


Keep Passing The Open Windows

by Xzeihoranth



Series: A Bright Side [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Gen, Mental Health Issues, Mostly Canon Compliant, Therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-01-31 09:38:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12679233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xzeihoranth/pseuds/Xzeihoranth
Summary: Yang and Blake try to work through their issues, as individuals and as a couple, while the world turns darker all around them.





	1. We Need To Talk

"Why did you want to see me?"

"...I don't know."

"..."

"It seemed like the right thing to do."

"Why is that?"

"I don't _know_! Is this all you're gonna do, just ask me questions?"

"I'm sorry. Does it make you- I'm sorry."

"You were about to ask if it makes me uncomfortable?"

"Yes, I was."

"Well it does."

"..."

"I'm sorry. I'm not usually so-"

"Take your time."

"...grumpy. I mean I have been lately. Last month, when my friend Sun was here, it felt like all I did was gripe at him."

"Tell me about him. If you like."

"He never wears a shirt. He used to have a crush or something on Blake. Maybe he still does."

"...I feel as if there's something more you wanted to say."

"It just hit me, you know. I... I wonder if that was part of the reason we were so gross and happy in public back then. Trying to rub it in his face. 'Back off, she's mine.'"

"Do you think they would agree with you?"

"I don't know. Probably not. Guess we'll never know then."

The silence that follows lasts more than a minute.

"...do you have any more...questions?"

"You said they make you uncomfortable."

"Kind of. But it's...it's easier to respond than trying to say something myself."

"I see."

"..."

"Well. Why don't you tell me about Blake?"

"Where do I start? Sh- She's great."

"..."

"We broke up earlier today."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, it...it was the right call. Since she came back, we'd been trying so hard to take care of one another."

"..."

"..."

"...you said she came back?"

"Yeah. Uh... I'm not- I'm not really comfortable talking about it."

"That's all right. We can talk about something else."

"Like what?"

"Like..." A sigh. "If I may ask, what is your relationship to the headmistress?"

"What? Why her?"

"She, ah, asked me to clear my schedule for today. In case you wanted to see me."

"What??"

"What's wrong?"

"Why would she do that?"

"Because she cares about you, presumably."

"But- Why- But what if I hadn't come? All your other patients..."

"They've been rescheduled. There's nothing to worry about."

"Of course there is! I'm just one girl! I'm not worth rearranging your whole calendar over!"

"That's not what I did. The headmistress asked me to make sure I had time for an appointment for you. I didn't know when you'd be stopping by, so I went ahead and called the other people I had booked for today and asked them if they could reschedule. And they could. And they did."

"..."

"Does that bother you?"

"I guess..."

"May I ask why?"

A shake of the head. Long blonde hair flies this way and that.

"It- What if I hadn't come? Were you just...going to keep...rescheduling?"

"No. At a certain point I would have asked the headmistress to ask you if you were planning on coming, and, if you were, to make an appointment."

"..."

"..."

"I'm- I'm supposed to meet my sister in Haven. She told me that last _winter_."

"Haven is quite a ways from here."

"I know! I should've been gone by now."

"Why haven't you?"

"..."

"'Why haven't you gone?' I should say."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Blake- Blake said I have so much to unpack, with CFVY and my dad... I don't know what she meant."

"Have you thought about asking her?"

"We just broke up."

"That doesn't mean you can't still be friends, if that's what both of you want. It might be hard, but it certainly seems like it's worth doing."

"I guess." Now she sighs. "My head hurts. I thought coming here was supposed to help."

"Could you tell me more about how you feel?"

"...I don't know."

"Could you say the first thing that comes to mind?"

Deep breath.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Trapped."

"All right."

"But it's not! It's not all right! I don't know why I said that!"

"I asked you to say the first thing that came to mind. It doesn't always mean that what you said is the truth. Sometimes it can. Not always."

Another deep breath, then a sigh.

"May I make an observation?"

"Sure."

He looks down at his notes. "The only things you said about your feelings were about Sun, towards the beginning. After that you... You talked about what you 'should do'. You said you should have broken up with Blake, which you did, and you said you should have left for Haven already."

"..."

"I'd like you to think about that. I have my own opinion. It's possible that I'm wrong."

"What is it?"

"My opinion?"

She nods.

"Well, it's mine. I don't want you to prejudice your feelings towards me, or yourself for that matter, by accepting what I think to be gospel."

"Oh. Okay."

He sits up in his chair. "I said I rescheduled all of my appointments for today. And that's true. But normally, this is about the time when a session would end. Now we can keep going, but I thought it might be good for us to stop, so you can get used to how long my sessions tend to be. It's up to you."

She sighs. "I don't know how much more I've got in me."

"That's fine. We'll stop there then." He stands up, smiling. "I'll work out details for payment with your father. Is that all right?"

She nods.

"Good. It was good to meet you, Yang Xiao Long."

Yang takes a moment before she stands up. She looks at Doctor Cohen and tries to smile. She doesn't know if she does. "You too sir."

"Oh, no need to call me sir. Call me Sandy, or Doctor Cohen. Or whatever you prefer." He smiles. "That is, if we'll be seeing each other again."

"I guess." Yang says.

"Wonderful! Well, you know how to find me. Have a good day."

"You too." she says again.

She closes the door behind her.

She sighs. _Now what?_

She walks down the path towards one of the main streets. She passes a bench with a big blue ball of string sitting on it before she stops and turns around. "Jas...?"

The ball of string twitches. Suddenly it begins to unravel and form a pair of arms, then a pair of legs, then a torso, and then a head. It starts to speak even before it finishes taking on the familiar shape of her somewhat-erstwhile friend Jasmine. "You remembered." it says, sounding impressed.

"Kind of hard to forget." Yang says. "Ruby turns into rose petals and you turn into string."

"Heh." Jasmine stands up and stretches. Her abs are well-defined, which her outfit today seems designed to flaunt. "I had to ask Mom's assistant where Doc Cohen's place was. Well, when I say 'ask', I mean kinda threaten."

"Kinda?" Yang says again. She doesn't like repeating herself.

"He's used to it."

Yang keeps her opinion to herself, like Doctor Cohen had with his. She thinks, but doesn't say, that Jasmine is more likely to ask nicely than threaten someone who didn't deserve it.

Jasmine falls almost in step with Yang as Yang starts walking again. She's only a few paces off. "So? How'd it go?"

"It...went..." Yang can't bring herself to finish the sentence. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Okay. I mean, it's your call. It's your appointment." They reach the main street, turning left towards Signal proper. "What do we talk about, then?"

"I don't know." Without her realizing it, Yang's right arm has clenched its hand into a fist. She tries to unclench it. It's harder than it should be. "How've your flights been?"

"Boring!" Jasmine says. "They've got us flying the Air Buses instead of the old Airships. Trying to break us in. They're a little smaller so they handle better, but I miss the old control system, you know?"

"Not really. I haven't been in the cockpit in..." Yang sighs. "Longer than I'd like."

"I can get you up to speed sometime. You'd have to pass the exam again, but you've always been a natural. It shouldn't be a problem."

"Huh" is all Yang finds herself able to say. "I used to think I was a natural at fighting too."

"In the field, maybe. In all our practice fights, you were too worried about hurting someone to go all-out."

 _Crunch!_ Yang flinches.

They walk on.

 

* * *

 

Blake turns a page. She looks over the whole thing before she realizes she can't remember how it started. She looks back up at the top, and the cycle repeats.

She sets the book aside angrily, though she thinks she'll come back to it. It's not the book's fault her mind is wandering.

 _I wonder if I should've gone with her,_ she thinks.

 _No,_ she answers herself. _You don't need help. You've gotten this far._

_Not by myself._

_You're always by yourself._ Her skin crawls. It's not her voice she heard those thoughts in. Not even her inner voice.

It's his.

 _That's not true,_ she says. _I had them. They were my team, my_ friends _._

 _And before them?_ She jumps. She's not used to hearing Ilia's voice inside her. _What about me?_

She pushes her chair away from the table.

_You left me too. Just so you could be with Adam._

She runs. The voices follow her.

 _At least he has a_ plan _,_ Ilia says accusingly. _What do you have?_

Yang's voice comes next. Blake clenches her hands. _Coco's books said it's PTSD._

 _You don't even have her,_ Ilia says. _You broke up because you want to be miserable._

 _You want to be miserable, admit it._ Not-Yang, from long ago.

 _No,_ she whispers, feeble even in her mind.

 _Say it,_ Not-Yang says. _Say you deserve to be miserable._

 _You deserve to be miserable,_ Ilia says.

 _You deserve to be miserable,_ Adam says.

 _You deserve to be miserable,_ Coco says.

 _You deserve to be miserable,_ her parents say in unison.

_I..._

_**Say it**_ , they all say, discordant to the point of chaos.

_I don-_

Her stomach wound burns. She clutches at it. It doesn't help.

She wants to scream, but she keeps it all inside.

She's gotten better at that, if nothing else.

 

* * *

 

They're back in the entrance hall of Signal Academy. _It's probably early afternoon,_ Yang thinks. Her guess is shown to bear fruit when she sees Jasmine's watch. "We should probably find Blake. Coco's gotta be back by now."

"I think Mom's the last person to see her. I'll send her a text to ask where she is." Jasmine pulls out her Scroll.

Yang sits down on a bench. She almost lets her head loll back against the wall, but she grabs the collar of her jacket and pulls it closer around her neck before she does.

 _What if she left?_ The thought rushes into her head. _She said I wasn't going to lose her again, but...haven't I lost her already? She broke up with me... And it'll be all my fault. I'm the one who brought it up._

Jasmine looks up. "No response. Guess she's in a meetin'."

Yang nods. Suddenly she's fighting back tears. She hopes that Jasmine doesn't notice.

She does.

"Hey." she says. "What's wrong?" She's walking over. Yang's muscles tense.

"I'm fine." she says, waving her right hand at Jasmine. Jasmine narrows her eyes. Yang doesn't know why, until she looks at her arm. Fist clenched. All of it shaking. She even thinks she feels something.

Pain.

Jasmine's Scroll makes a noise. She doesn't even look at it.

She sits down beside Yang.

"I c-" Yang gasps for breath. "I can- I can't move it."

"Sure you can." Jasmine says. "You did it before."

"It's not-" Yang says. "It's not-"

"Remember earlier? In the clearing? You were giving Blake a backrub like you used to do for me."

"I don't want to think about her." Yang says. She wipes tears from her eyes.

"Okay. So don't think about her. Just think about..." Jasmine falters. "I don't know. Something happy?"

"That's not- That's not help- That's not helping." Yang says. She wants to apologize, but her throat can't find the air.

"Sorry. I- I don't know what to do." Jasmine says. She sounds close to tears as well, or as close as Yang can remember hearing her. "I mean... There is one thing." She moves her right arm so Yang can see it, and turns it into string. "I can go in and see if I can help you move it again." she says.

Yang nods. _Okay_ , she thinks, wishing she could say it, even if she isn't sure that it is.

She wishes she could feel the string moving into the nooks and crannies of her arm. _It wouldn't feel good,_ she thinks. _Not Jasmine's fault. But it'd be nice to feel something there again._

She looks down at her hand. She can see glimpses of Jasmine's string woven in around each of the fingers. "Give it a try." Jasmine says.

Yang tries to let go. **Let go,** that something says inside her. She brushes it aside and focuses on opening up her hand. Beside her, she can feel Jasmine flexing a little too, to try and help her.

If Jasmine's Scroll goes off, neither of them hear it.

"Did you see that?" Jasmine says. "I thought I felt something move. What was it?"

"I think it was the middle one. Your favorite."

Jasmine laughs softly. She lifts up her left hand, extends its middle finger, and brings it in close to Yang's right. "Back to back." she says.

Yang struggles for a moment, finally managing to raise the middle finger and move the arm far enough to be able to bump wrists with Jasmine.

Jasmine grins at her. "Let's keep trying with the other ones."

"No need. I think..." Yang focuses. "I got it." And she does. First the pinky, then the ring, then the middle to match the others, then the index finger and the thumb.

"There you go!" Jasmine says. "Gimme a minute to pull out." She looks expectantly at Yang.

Yang blushes.

"Aw you prude." Jasmine says, nudging her teasingly with her shoulder. She finishes her own joke. "'That's what _he_ said!'" she says with a laugh. The strings slither out of Yang's prosthetic and form into an arm of their own. She notices Yang staring at it. "Oh. Was that insensitive of me?"

Yang quickly shakes her head. "No, no. I just- I gotta get used to it, I guess."

"If you say so..." Jasmine doesn't sound like she believes it. She leans back against the wall with Yang. Her Scroll sounds again. "Shoot!" she says, though she doesn't say shoot. Yang winces. "I forgot!" She pulls it out. Yang closes her eyes. "Oh." Jasmine says. "Mom says Blake asked about the library. Had her assistant show her where it was. Sounds like her." she adds bitterly. She quickly types something and puts her Scroll away again. "Let's go get her."

Yang's stomach lurches. "I- I'm not sure I-"

"Huh? Isn't she your friend?"

"Yeah, but..." She can't look at Jasmine. She stares at the wall across the lobby. "Things are kind of awkward right now between us."

Jasmine fights back a sigh. Yang can feel it. "Okay. You wait here and I'll go get her?"

"Okay." Yang says in return.

"You got your Scroll in case you need me?"

"Yes Jas."

"Okay. The library's a couple minutes away, and it might take me a while to find her-"

"I know." Yang manages to smile up at her. "I'll be fine on my own. I mean it."

"Long as you're sure..." Jasmine touches two fingers to her brow in a quick salute, and heads off.

Yang stares at the wall.

 

* * *

 

Blake is curled up in a corner when Jasmine finds her. It just so happens to be a corner that the sun is shining into. Jasmine wonders if she should make a joke about it. _Ehh, better not. Don't wanna say something she might think is racist._

"Hey," she says. Blake doesn't move. "Time to go." Still nothing. She steps closer. She gently nudges one of Blake's boots with her foot.

Blake jumps. She looks up, breathing heavily.

Jasmine takes a step back at the wordless expression in Blake's eyes. "It's time to go." she says, more quietly. For a moment she's not sure if Blake understood her. She holds out her watch. "See?"

Blake looks at it. "Oh." she says, what feels like an eternity later. She stands up. "Let's go."

Jasmine notices her shaking, but decides against mentioning it for the time being. "Yang's in the main hall." she says, jerking her thumb over her shoulder in its general direction. "It was her idea to head back."

Blake shrugs. "Okay." she says.

Jasmine finds herself shrugging as well for wont of something to do. "You ready? Got any books to check out?"

"What? Oh." They've started walking towards the exit. "I- I don't have a card."

"It doesn't take long to get one. But I get it if you're not feeling up for it." Blake frowns, but doesn't look at Jasmine. "You're shaking." Jasmine says.

Blake wraps her arms around herself in an attempt to stop. "I'm _fine_." she says.

Jasmine just sighs. "Gimme a break..."

 

* * *

 

"We're back."

Yang blinks. She turns her head.

Jasmine's off to her right, hips cocked precociously, as they usually are. Behind her is Blake, refusing to look at her. Yang's chest hurts.

"Hey." she croaks.

Now Blake does look at her, if only for a moment. "Hey." she says in that moment, then looks away again.

Yang looks down at the floor.

Jasmine looks between them. "You ever heard of seven minutes in heaven?"

Yang shrugs. "Maybe?" she says. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"That's what I feel like doing to you two." Jasmine makes a shoving motion. "Pushing you into a closet and not letting you out until you freaking _talk to each other_." She doesn't say freaking.

Yang flinches. She looks up at Blake.

Blake sees her out of the corner of her eye. She turns to face her, even as the voice in her head that sounds like her says, "You deserve to be miserable."

"Are you..." Yang begins. "...mad at me?"

"Didn't we just have this discussion?" Blake says.

Much as she wants to, Yang doesn't budge.

Blake sighs. "I- I don't know. You made a lot of sense when you said we needed to break up." Jasmine raises her eyebrows. _I was right about them,_ she thinks. _They were totally a thing._ "But i...it still hurt. Maybe that's why I've been avoiding you. Like I avoid all my problems."

"So I'm a problem now?"

Blake winces at the pain in Yang's voice. She doesn't know what to say.

"I-" Yang stops. "Huh. I did the same thing with Doctor Cohen."

"What?" Blake says.

"I...didn't talk about you. He...he said I didn't talk about my feelings, except for right at the start. But after that..." She trails off. "I guess that's one more thing you and I have in common."

Blake smiles hesitantly.

"Okay." Yang stands up. "No more avoiding. We need to talk, or we'll keep hurting each other, like I said last night."

"Al- All right..." Blake says. She still shrinks away at Yang's approach.

Yang reaches out. "Do you want a hug?"

Blake tries to nod. "Just a little one." she says as Yang comes even closer.

Yang slips her arms around her gently. She doesn't cling like she wants to. Blake doesn't deserve that. "Whatever happens..." she whispers. She permits herself to tighten her grip just a little. "I love you."

Blake's eyes fill with tears. She clutches at Yang's back. "I love you." she whispers back.

Jasmine swallows a sudden lump in her throat. She doesn't know whether to look away to give them some sort of privacy or to keep looking to feed the sudden gaping void in her heart.

Over Blake's shoulder Yang sees a flash of red. She buries her face in Blake's neck to avoid seeing the look of reproach that she knows would be on Ruby's face.

"I'm coming. I promise. I'm coming." she murmurs.

Blake doesn't know who Yang is talking to. She doesn't ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I overuse ellipses in that first part or what? It was the only way I could indicate time passing while sticking to the format I wanted.  
> I'm not used to writing stories for a series that's still ongoing. Every episode that's released makes it harder to line up what I have in mind with what the writers have in mind, and I don't know for sure that I'll be able to reconcile them.


	2. A Bit Of Everyone RWBY

Yang looks at the clock. It takes her a moment to really register what time it is. When she does, she groans.

She stares at the ceiling.

 _No one's gonna be up at this hour,_ she thinks to herself. _'xcept maybe Jas._ She turns her head to the side, her gaze lingering on her Scroll that's sitting next to her arm on the bedside table. _Is it worth it?_ she wonders.

Some time later she makes up her mind. She reaches out and grabs it, knocking her arm to the floor in the process. Wincing at the noise, she throws back the covers with her stump and tries to pick it up before she remembers.

She grits her teeth so hard they hurt, and sets her Scroll back down on the table so she can pick up her arm. It's almost impossible to put it on in the darkness. She has to turn the lamp on and wait for her eyes to adjust before she can do it properly. She doesn't notice Weiss Junior's silence this time either.

 _"hey"_ she texts to Jasmine. _"you up?"_

The reply comes back about a minute later. _"o shoot"_ It doesn't say shoot. _"yeh im up"_ Yang sits up straighter against the wall. _"y r u tho"_

 _"cant sleep"_ Yang types. She's glad she put her other arm on. It would take forever to type anything otherwise. _"what_ _cha_ _doin?"_

_"u don wana know ;)"_

Yang blushes. _"that bad huh"_

 _"lil bita this lil bita that"_ A few seconds later, she says, _"chic lik me cant aford 2b pickyy"_

A smile creeps onto Yang's face. She doesn't notice it. If she did, she would hate it. _"i remember when i felt like that"_ she types.

_"o yea? wht happnd?"_

The smile goes away. _"i dont know"_ Yang types. _"i"_ She stops.

_"?"_

_"ive been"_ She stops again. She's too tired to think about what she's writing. She just writes. _"having trouble"_ She stops again, only for a moment. _"feeling"_

The reply comes quickly. Yang doesn't look at it. Her nerves are acting up. She stares at the ceiling again for a long time before she allows herself to look at the screen.

 _"o yea"_ the first message says. _"i been ther"_ There are so many messages. The screen has begun to shake. Her _arms_ have begun to shake. Yang puts her Scroll down on her lap. She rubs her eyes with the back of her left hand and looks back down at the screen. There are more.

_"u wana talk about it?"_

_"??"_

_"yang??"_

_"u there??"_

_"ok im outside"_

_"culdnt think n ther"_

_"yang???"_

_"talk 2 me"_

Yang pulls her pillow out from behind her. She buries her face in it and makes a noise that's a combination of a groan and a scream, stifled so as not to wake anyone up.

 _"im fine"_ she types after a moment. _"i gotta go. c u tmrw?"_

 _"uh huh"_ Jasmine replies. _"l_ _ater_ _sis"_

Yang turns off her Scroll. She's about to reach for the lamp switch when a voice says her name.

She looks up.

Blake is standing in the doorway. At least she appears to be.

"Are you okay?" Blake asks.

Yang's mouth is dry suddenly. She reaches for her glass of water close to the wall on the table, but it's empty.

"Yeah." she whispers. "I'm fine."

"Oh." Blake says. "I thought I- I thought I heard something from in here."

"Probably just me being clumsy." Yang raises her right arm. "Knocked it off the table earlier, had to turn the light on."

"Oh." Blake says again. Yang notices she's holding something behind her back.

"What's- Um. What's that?" she asks.

"What?" Blake asks, not fooling anyone.

"That." Yang gestures. "That thing you've got behind your back."

Blake's shoulders and ears slump. She moves her hands forward to reveal Gambol Shroud at the ready.

It's Yang's turn to say 'oh'. "You thought I was in trouble didn't you?"

"Yes." Blake says, not quite looking Yang in the eye.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine. I just..." Yang stares at the wall for a moment. "Just had trouble sleeping."

"Did you try taking another one of the pills?" Blake asks.

Yang shakes her head a little. "The label says you're only supposed to take one every twelve hours. They're supposed to be pretty powerful."

"Huh" is all Blake can say.

Yang tries to smile. It doesn't last long. "Can you...come here for a second?"

"Why?" Blake asks.

Yang notices her sudden tension and tries to defuse it. "I wanna be sure you're real." she says quietly.

For a moment she's not sure if she succeeded. Then Blake steps inside. The door she'd kicked down what feels like ages ago is propped up against the wall outside. She stands at the foot of Yang's bed, suddenly unwilling to come any closer.

Yang gets up and closes the distance between them. She reaches out her right hand, then her left when she remembers she can't feel anything with her right one any more, and lets it hover over Blake's head and her Faunus ears. "It's the easiest way." Yang says apologetically.

Blake nods, giving her permission.

Yang's touch is as light as a feather. Blake's Faunus ears twitch at the sudden contact. She blushes a little. Yang laughs. "That's still adorable." she says. She blushes as well. "Is that-"

"Is what?"

"Is it...racist?"

Blake smiles, a quarter of an inch. "No Yang. It's not."

"Okay good." Yang says with a sigh. She's trying so hard not to gaze at Blake's incredible eyes that she forgets she's still rubbing Blake's Faunus ears.

"Are you satisfied?" Blake asks after a while.

"Hmm?" Yang says dreamily.

Blake flicks her ears.

Yang blinks. She pulls her hand back. "Sorry."

"It's all right." Blake says. She puts Gambol Shroud down on the ground and stands up to look up at Yang again. Without her heels on there's about a five inch difference between them.

Yang grins at her. _I'm really gay,_ she thinks.

Blake is enjoying this as well. Somewhere some part of her is telling her to go back to bed, that she deserves to be alone, but she'll take what solace she can where she finds it. And it's like Yang said, they can't keep avoiding one another forever.

"Uh..." Yang says at last. Blake tilts her head to the side, one eyebrow raised just a touch. "Did I wake you or..."

And just like that the spell begins to break. "No." Blake says. "I couldn't sleep either."

"Oh." Yang's smile fades. "Should we...?"

"What?"

"I mean, do you want to...talk?"

Blake sighs. "Not really."

"Should we go out and train?" Yang flexes and hopes she looks confident.

"No Yang." Yang visibly deflates. "I just...want to pretend everything is still good between us."

"How are we gonna do that?"

Silence reigns in the room.

After a while Yang holds out her arms. "Hug?" she says.

"Thanks..." Blake says. "But no." She can't explain it. She just doesn't want to be touched right now.

"Oh." Yang says again. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to keep apologizing."

"I'm-" Yang catches herself. "...what should I say instead?" she asks.

"I don't _know_!" Blake snaps suddenly. Yang flinches. Blake sees the pain in her eyes, and just like that her anger's gone. "Yang..." she whispers. "I'm so- I'm sorry."

Yang doesn't say anything.

Blake runs for the door, tears already spilling out of her eyes.

"Wait!" Yang says at last.

Blake stops in the doorway. She doesn't look back. Her arms are wrapped around herself. Her shoulders are shaking.

"If you need to be alone right now-" Yang sniffs. She wipes her eyes on the back of her hand. Her right hand. "I...I'll try to understand. Just... _please_. Promise me you won't go."

Blake still can't look at her, but she nods.

She leaves. Yang can hear her trying not to slam the door to the guest room.

Yang gets back into bed and stares at the wall.

 

* * *

 

Klein appears in the doorway. "You rang, Miss Schnee?"

"Please don't call me that any more Klein." Weiss sighs. "I gave up my right to that name last night."

"I'm sorry Miss Schnee." he says. He sticks a finger in his ear and wiggles it about. "I'm not getting any younger. Should put in for a hearing aid." he laughs. Weiss doesn't react. "Was there something you wanted Miss Schnee?"

"You're not going to let that go are you?" she asks.

His eyes twinkle.

She can't help but smile. "Very well Klein." She draws herself up a little. "Would you please let Mother know I wish to speak with her in the library?"

He falters for a moment, but Weiss does not. "Right away ma'am." he says.

 

* * *

 

He sees her again at least half an hour later. Weiss's mother does not walk fast even on her best days, and this is not one of them.

"Thank you Klein." Weiss says. She crosses half the room, her heels clicking loudly every step of the way. "I can take it from here."

He lowers his voice, even though there's no one there but the three of them. "Are you sure, Miss Schnee? She- Your mother doesn't seem very responsive today."

"I'm sure." she says firmly. She looks up at him quickly as she takes her mother by the arm. "I may...say things that I don't want you to have to repeat to Father."

He nods. "Very good Miss Schnee." he says loudly, and leaves.

Weiss walks with her mother back to the center of the room. Whitley's record player is there. Weiss has already loaded the record of her choice. All she has to do is work up the nerve to lower the needle and begin her final show.

Her mother walks slowly and placidly, staring off into the distance like she always does. The early evening light is drifting through the window. _I used to find this time of day so pretty here..._

Weiss swallows a lump in her throat. She reaches down and puts the needle in place.

_"Des yeux qui font baisser les miens, un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche - Voilà le portrait sans retouche de l'homme auquel j'appartiens..."_

She takes her mother's hand in one of her own and sets her other around her mother's waist. Her mother's free hand dangles to the side.

"Do you remember this song Mother?" she whispers as she begins to dance. Nothing complicated, just a gentle swaying from side to side. "You used to tell me it was one of your favorites. One day I asked if you loved it because of Father, and you just smiled." Weiss smiles as well. "That must have been the day I began to realize..."

She continues dancing. _Is that recognition on Mother's face? No. Just my overactive imagination._

Weiss lowers her voice. "I have to go soon Mother. I...I don't know if I'll see you again. I cannot stay here in this...this _prison_ any longer. There are people out there who need me. I told you about one of them." She looks closer into her mother's face. "Do you remember? Ruby?"

_That MUST be a smile! But it could just be the music._

"I don't know where she is. But Winter might. I heard Father talking to General Ironwood. He said that something was going on in Mistral; he'd heard it from Winter. If I know Ruby, she'll be back in the thick of things by now."

Her step falters. She narrowly avoids treading on her mother's toe.

"I hope Yang is doing better. She wasn't- She wasn't talking to anyone when I left. I don't know if I can forgive her for running away again." She's not talking about Yang any more. "I trusted her. We all did. Perhaps Winter was right. Perhaps I can't continue relying on others to bail me out of trouble. Or ever." Her mother's head moves. She's almost looking at Weiss now. Weiss swallows again. She pulls her mother close. The music's coming to an end. "I miss you." she whispers. "I always have. And- And I always will."

Her mother puts her arm around Weiss's back. Weiss freezes.

She can almost hear her mother saying something.

 

* * *

 

"Ruby?"

Ruby sets down her pen before she looks toward the door.

"Nora and I are going to get something to eat." Ren smiles slightly. "Well, Nora is."

Ruby smiles as well. "You're not hungry?"

"Not really. I...I don't want to let her out of my sight again."

Ruby's smile turns sad. She doesn't notice. "Oh. I know how you feel." she says.

"You do?"

Ruby shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. Go ahead and eat. I'm gonna stay here with Uncle Qrow for a bit."

Ren nods. He turns to leave, but Ruby stops him.

"Oh." she says. He turns again. "Where's Jaune?"

"He's in our room. Sleeping."

"Okay. Maybe I'll check in on him in a little while."

Ren nods again. He waits for Ruby to say something else. She's turned to look at her uncle, so he waits a little while longer until Nora tugs on his sleeve. He looks at her. She tilts her head to one side, then peers around him into the room.

Ruby has tears in her eyes.

Nora's glad she didn't say anything.

 

* * *

 

Ilia watches as Mr Belladonna bids his wife goodnight. He's saying something about some papers. She hopes he hasn't had time to transcribe the messages from her Scroll.

He sits down at his desk. Ilia clenches her fists. _Why couldn't he have gone to bed at a reasonable hour?_

"Ilia?" he says without looking up. Ilia goes stiff all over. "Is that you?"

Her skin is a brilliant yellow in the light pouring out from inside. She tries to bring it back to normal before she hops onto the porch and opens the door. She tries. She doesn't succeed.

"How did you know?" she rasps.

"Did you think we hadn't increased security since you were here last?" he says. He stands up. She takes a step back. "How have you been?"

She pulls out her whip. "Let's talk about you." She coils her whip into its rapier form and points it at him. "Or more specifically, your daughter."

Mr Belladonna doesn't flinch. "Would you like some tea? I think I can manage to whip up a pot or two without my wife noticing."

She steps in front of him as he makes his way to the door. "Stop avoiding me."

He sighs. "Blake isn't here. If the Albains want to know where she is, they won't get it from me." His fur bristles slightly. "And if they won't get it from me, they most assuredly will not get it from my wife."

"We have ways of making you talk." Ilia says. She takes a step forward. Her weapon is almost touching Ghira's shoulder.

Ghira still doesn't flinch. "If you kill me, the Albains' secret will come out all the sooner. I've left instructions with people I trust-"

"We know." Ilia interrupts him. "We know all of them. All I have to do is say the word."

"All of them? Even the marine biologist off the coast?"

That makes her stop. Ghira reaches up slowly and brings her weapon down. "What do you want?" he asks quietly.

"I want to know where Blake is." she says.

"Why?" he asks.

"You don't need to know. Just give me what I want, and I'll leave. But I can't say the same for the rest of the Fang."

He turns his back to her. _The NERVE!_ She should stab him. She's stabbed others for less. "Before she left, my daughter told me, told us, about why she left the White Fang." He sits down on the couch and looks up at her. "Did she tell _you_? Did they?" He studies her.

She pauses. Her whip hand trembles. Then she reaches up and removes her mask. Her skin turns green and her hair and eyes turn blue, as do the spots along her skin.

"I've made a mistake." she begins.

 

* * *

 

A girl with pink and brown hair finds her cabin on board the Pride quickly. She closes the door, sits down on her bed and waits.

A freckled fourteen year old boy looks up and down the train car. It's almost empty, save for a scale-covered Faunus woman near the back. He picks a seat at random and sits down. He doesn't notice the woman open her eyes and look at him. They're blacker than the space between stars. He doesn't notice, but something inside of him does.

And at Beacon Academy, something screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So by my estimate, we're a little over 2 months away from the start of the fall semester in Haven. Gotta give Qrow time to recover, not to mention everyone else.


	3. Glynda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To fellow Americans, happy Thanksgiving. Here's my new chapter.

Blake is curled up on the bookshelf below the window in the living room, reading. Yang had wanted to tell her that the bookshelf wasn't meant to support someone for any length of time, at least not physically. When she'd opened her mouth, nothing had come out.

Yang's stretched out on the couch, staring at the ceiling. It doesn't feel like today is a day for getting things done. She thinks she needs to get up and do some exercise, but she can't bring herself to move.

The door opens. "Whew!" Coco says loudly. She makes her way around the couch and collapses into the armchair. Fox and Yatsuhashi head into the kitchen.

Yang rolls over onto her stomach. "Good workout?" she asks, propping her chin up on her hand.

Coco shoots her a tired smile. "In the sense that I feel I could sit here until the end of time."

Yang smiles back. "Where's Velvet?"

"She's cleaning up out back." Fox says from the doorway to the kitchen. "I don't know where she gets all her energy from."

"I do." Coco says, somewhat mercifully leaving it at that.

The door bangs open. Blake jumps. Yang and Coco look up.

"Glynda's here!" Velvet squeaks.

"What?!" Coco scrambles to her feet. "Why?"

"I don't know! She's coming up the path!"

"Fox! Yatsu!" Coco barks. Blake clamps her hands over her ears.

"Here." Yatsuhashi says.

"How do I look?" Coco frantically smooths out her shirt and straightens her beret.

"You look fantastic." Fox says dryly.

"Not the time Fox!"

"You look great Coco!" Velvet says. "Just relax!"

"Relax? You're the one who came in-"

"Am I interrupting?"

As one, CFVY stops. They turn towards the door, shoulders back, arms behind their backs.

"No ma'am!" Coco says. "You just surprised us by coming here."

Yang remembers Glynda Goodwitch as having immaculate hair and a small pair of glasses. The Glynda in front of her has longer more unkempt hair and traces of stress in the new lines across her face. Her sleeves are torn, as is her cape; her glasses are nowhere in sight, and there's little trace of the severe elegance that once characterized the assistant headmaster. Now there's just severity.

"Please," Glynda is saying. "There's no need to stand at attention. We're not Atlas." She says the last word with pronounced distaste.

"Yes ma'am." Coco says. She tries to relax, as does her team.

Glynda looks at Yang. Yang starts. There's a haunted look in Glynda's eyes. Yang remembers seeing something like that for months whenever she looked in the mirror.

"Miss Xiao Long. It's been quite a while." Glynda says.

Yang nods. "It sure has." she says. She hides her suddenly shaking arm behind her back.

"You're actually the reason I've come here."

Yang swallows.

Glynda looks back to CFVY. "As I'm sure you're aware, it's been well over a month since you first came here. When you and Mister Wukong informed me-" She gestures to Coco. "You gave me the impression that it would only be for a few days."

"It's my fault." Velvet says quietly.

Coco looks at her. "Velvet, honey..."

"The first thing we saw when we got here was Yang sittin' on a rock. She looked miserable. And she was." Velvet looks at Yang. Yang blushes. "She always stuck up for me when we were at school together. I had to return the favor."

Yang looks away. _Everyone keeps going out of their way to help me,_ she thinks. _Why??_

Glynda sighs. "I can't- I cannot force you to come back to Beacon. There's hardly anything left there but misery and the Grimm." She smiles darkly. "As often as those things go hand in hand." Her smile disappears. "You were second-year students in our final semester. With the amount of combat experience you've received since then, you'd almost qualify for third-years at any of the other academies. But there are people there at Beacon who've grown accustomed to your presence. And the absence of that presence has caused them to worry." She draws herself up. "I would like to know your plans for the future: if you intend to stay here with Miss Xiao Long, or if you intend to go elsewhere to further your education. I'm certain Professor Lionheart at least would welcome you with open arms."

In the silence that follows, Yang notices Blake has disappeared. Her heartbeat quickens even more. She wants nothing more than to go and look for her, but what impression would that give Glynda? Has Glynda even seen her? Does she know that Blake ran?

Coco takes off her glasses and Yang tries to bring her focus back into the living room. "I- I don't know." she admits quietly. "It's not something we've talked about. I do know I... I don't want to let anyone down, but I can't just leave Yang behind like the rest of her team did. And I can't split up my team either. You know what that did to BRNZ." Glynda seems to nod. Coco shrugs helplessly. "I just don't know."

Glynda purses her lips.

"Guys, I'd be fine on my own." Yang says. Coco and her team look at her. "I've got my new therapist, and Zwei, and..." She doesn't finish. She hopes none of them will bring up Blake.

Velvet is the first to speak. She walks over to Yang, squeezing in between the table and the couch. She kisses Yang on the cheek, then hugs her, looking up at Glynda with a touch of defiance. "We're not leaving her." she says.

Coco looks at Yatsuhashi. She jerks her head towards Yang and Velvet. Yatsuhashi gently takes Fox by the arm and follows Coco. One by one they put their arms around Yang, until Yang starts crying.

"What she said." Coco says, softly but firmly.

Glynda looks at them for a long moment. Yang doesn't know what her face might be giving away. She's too busy trying to hug everyone she can with only one arm. All she can feel is her eyes.

"Very well." Glynda finally says with a sigh. "I'll have to figure out how to tell the students." Her heels tap against the wood floor. The front door closes. Loudly.

Suddenly Yang remembers something. "Wait!" she says. She tries to shrug CFVY away. "I need to ask her something!"

Startled, they all let go.

Yang rushes for the door, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

She opens it. "Professor!" she calls.

Her eyes are still blurry from crying, but she thinks Glynda stops at the end of the path.

Yang hurries toward her, trying to figure out what to say, and how to say it.

"Yes?" Glynda prompts her.

Yang winces. "Uh..." she says. "A couple days ago, B-" She stops. She'd almost mentioned her. " _We_ found something in my sister's nightstand. My dad said it was Pyrrha's bone."

"Who?"

Yang doesn't know what she was expecting Glynda to do or say in response to that, but it wasn't this.

"Pyr- Pyrrha?" Yang offers. Glynda still looks lost, and a little angry. "Pyrrha Nikos? She die- She died on top of the tower?"

"Is this some kind of joke?" Glynda says coldly.

"What? No! I would never joke about her!" Now Yang is getting angry too. "She was on Jaune's team, remember? Team JNPR?"

Glynda just keeps looking at her. "Jaune, I remember-"

"Jaune! Jaune Arc! Nora Valkyrie! Pyrrha Nikos! Lie Ren!" Her eyes are turning red. They must be. "Who do you think the P stands for if not for Pyrrha Nikos?!"

Glynda's face changes. "I don't-" she begins to say.

Suddenly Yang inhales sharply. "Your nose is bleeding."

"What...?" Glynda puts her thumb and middle finger to her nose and touches her nostrils. They come away covered in blood.

"It's gonna get on your blouse!" Yang says. "Or...whatever it is!" She pulls the stub of her arm out of her jacket and frantically tries to take the rest of it off. "Here! Use this!"

"I can manage it." Glynda says. She tilts her head back and holds her nose.

Yang presses her jacket at Glynda. "Take it!"

"Are you sure?" Glynda asks nasally.

"Of course I'm sure! It's just a jacket! And- And it's summer too; it's not like I need it."

Glynda takes it. She presses it to her nose and says something.

"What?"

"Thank you." Glynda says loudly through the jacket.

"Oh. Don't mention it." Yang says.

She wonders if Glynda is smiling. She wonders if Glynda is capable of smiling any more, before she remembers that she had inside.

"I should leave." Glynda says, moving the jacket away from her mouth with her free hand. "I'm glad you're doing better."

"So am I." Yang says. She even manages to laugh. "I hope things at Beacon go well."

Even with most of her face now obscured by the jacket, Yang can see Glynda's expression change again. She's not sure what it changes into. "As do I." she says. She nods once in farewell, and heads down the main road back towards Signal.

 

* * *

 

When Yang comes back inside, she finds CFVY sitting side-by-side on the couch in dead silence. Their feet are all on the floor, and their hands are resting face-up on their knees, with each of their thumbs and index fingers raised and touching their other finger to form a circle.

Yang looks down at her hand and does the same. She's not sure why.

Unwilling to disturb her friends, she hurries upstairs as quietly as she can to look for Blake.

The guest room door is closed.

She knocks quietly.

"Yes?" she hears Blake say after a moment.

She heaves a sigh of relief. "Blake? It's me. Can I come in?"

"Okay."

Yang opens the door.

Blake is lying on the bed. She looks over at Yang as Yang closes the door behind her.

"Glynda's gone." Yang says. She leans back against the door. "She-" She stops. "CFVY is staying."

"That's great." Blake says. She looks up at the ceiling.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang asks.

"It means I'm happy for you. They seem like good people." _Mostly,_ she thinks to herself.

Yang kneels down by the side of the bed. "Buuut...?"

Blake sighs. "But Coco doesn't like me. She's right. I almost ran away again the other night. I'm such a coward."

Yang lets her hand reach out halfway across the bed towards Blake. "You're not a coward. I sprang a lot on you that night. If I'm telling the truth, I wish I'd kept some of it to myself."

Blake looks over at Yang once again. She can't bring herself to take her hand. "You said it was the right thing to do."

"I know." Yang says. "But... I still kind of regret it, you know?"

Blake smiles a quarter-inch. "We're just a big tangled ball of regrets, aren't we?" She finally finds the courage to take Yang by the hand again, even as memories of that night come rushing back. _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..._

Yang squeezes Blake's hand very very gently. "Just like Jasmine." Blake cocks her head quizzically. "It's her Semblance. She can turn into string. I better tell her not to make any insensitive jokes." Blake cocks her head a little more, and Yang motions with her eyes to Blake's Faunus ears.

Blake chuckles. "You're always so thoughtful."

"That's not what dad says." Yang immediately regrets saying it. "I'm sorry." she says. She lets go of Blake's hand and pushes herself to her feet. "I'll try and get Coco to be nicer to you."

"Yang."

Yang turns back to Blake.

"You don't have to go." Blake says.

"I..." Yang says. She looks down at the floor in front of her feet. "I keep trying to make everything about _me_. Like just now. Velvet as good as said to Glynda I'm the only reason she doesn't want to go back to Beacon. And her team agreed with her. All because I'm so... _self-centered_ now."

Blake sits up. "You're not self-centered. You have a lot going on."

"That's not new. I've always had a lot going on. And...this-" She raises the stub of her arm. "This isn't new either." Blake can't stop staring. There aren't any bandages on it. It's healed as much as it ever will, a reminder for both of them of how much of a coward Blake is. "It's been, what, six months now?"

Blake doesn't know if that's right. She doesn't know anything. She's useless.

"You don't have to go." she says again.

Yang doesn't say anything.

Blake gets up. "Yang?" She's standing next to Yang now, but Yang still isn't looking at her. "Stay with me."

"And do what?" Yang asks weakly.

"What do you want to do?"

Yang is silent once more. Then she says, "I want to kiss you. I want to be near you. I want-" She swallows visibly. "I want to know you're not going to leave me again."

"Well..." Blake says, stalling for time in order to get her heartrate to calm down. "We probably shouldn't do the first one. We just broke up." She thinks she sees tears beginning to form in Yang's wonderful purple eyes, and hurriedly keeps talking. "But you can stay here. We can...we can cuddle. Like you and Velvet."

"And the last one?" Yang looks up at her. "Are you going to leave me again?"

It's Blake's turn to swallow. "Not if I can help it." she promises shakily.

Yang frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's- It's like that song said." Blake walks back over to her bed. She sits down and pats the spot next to her with her hand. "The one on the radio. The day before-" She stops.

Yang is sitting down next to her. "Oh yeah." she says. She tries to concentrate, sticking out her tongue like she always does. Blake smiles at that. Suddenly Yang starts to sing. " _We can never know about the days to come. But we think about them anyway._ " She stops too, remembering the words that come next.

Blake does as well. She reaches out and takes Yang's hand again.

_And I wonder...if I'm really with you now, or just chasing after some finer day..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The stuff with Glynda is, in my view, pretty interesting. I hope I get to explore it more soon.


	4. Arslan Arrives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished it just today, a little while after the episode aired.

Ruby stretches. She tries doing it quietly, so as not to wake Uncle Qrow, but her joints pop and crack until even she has to wince. "Sorry." she mouths at him. He doesn't react.

The bed is bigger, the figure in it much much older, but something about his stillness reminds her of Yang in the days before she'd left. She shakes her head. "Stupid." she whispers as tears begin flooding her eyes. "I should've stayed."

Suddenly she can't stand to be alone. She gets to her feet so quickly her chair almost falls over, and hurries to JNR's room.

  

* * *

 

Jaune is stretched out on the bed they're all supposed to share. Ruby guesses Nora and Ren are still at lunch or dinner. She doesn't know what time it is.

He's not snoring like he usually does when he sleeps on his back. And he doesn't look happy.

Ruby steps closer. "Jaune?" she whispers.

He doesn't react.

She sits down on the bed. She reaches out to shake his shoulder.

His eyes fly open and he gasps loudly.

She jumps, yanking her hand back.

For a moment it doesn't look as though he recognizes her.

"Jaune! It's me." she says.

"Ruby. Right. Sorry." he says. He's breathing hard. "Had a...bad dream."

She smiles faintly at him for wont of something better to do.

"Is everything okay?" he asks.

"No, no, everything's fine. We're still safe. Nora's gone to get something to eat and Ren went with her." She lets her shoulders relax. "Uncle Qrow is sleeping. The doctors say he should be out of commission for at least a couple weeks while his Aura recovers."

"All right." He sits up against the headboard, putting his head behind his hands. "Is there something on your mind?"

"Huh?" Ruby asks. "Oh. No. I just don't wanna sit around waiting. Qrow mentioned that Cinder and her followers said they came from here. Maybe if we poke around we can uncover something."

"Like another scorpion Faunus?" Jaune says. "Ruby, we just got here. We should lie low for a bit until we've got something more definitive than just poking around."

"I can't be one step behind them the whole time! Qrow's the only one who has any idea what's going on! Without him, we- We're going to keep... _losing_..." Jaune lowers his hands, surprised by Ruby's outburst. "I'm sorry." she murmurs. She looks to one side.

Jaune thinks for a moment. "Look," he says at last. Ruby doesn't. "We don't have to 'poke around', right? We can go down to the market, see if there are any cool weapons for you to look at. Leave the big stuff until Qrow's feeling better."

Ruby sighs. She wipes her eyes, then she looks up, a smile stretched out across her face. "Good idea." she says. "Good compromise. Let's go tell him where we're going."

  

* * *

 

He receives the information with a groan. "Not like I can stop you." he says. "Just do me two things." Ruby nods. "One: wear your hood up. Two: bring the rest of your friends." He looks over at Jaune. "Not saying I don't trust you, but Ruby's our ace 'n the hole. An' you don't even have yer Semblance."

"Believe me, I know." Jaune says.

"You got it Uncle Qrow." Ruby says. She rests her hand on her shoulder. He's still too weak to return the gesture even if he'd wanted to, so instead he just smiles.

As they're leaving the room, he calls, "Hey. Think I can order room service?"

Ruby smiles.

 

* * *

 

"Ooh, _shopping_! Count me in!" Nora rockets to her feet.

"Nora, you just ate three whole courses all by yourself."

"And now I gotta work it off!" Nora says. She grabs Ren by the arm. "Come onnn! Don't be a stick-in-the-mud."

Ren allows himself to be dragged to his feet. Ruby's willing to bet he has a smile on his face, and by the time he turns to them, she sees that he does. "Have you informed your uncle?" he asks Ruby.

"Yep!" she says, perhaps a little too loudly. "He said there was nothing he could do to stop me!"

"He clearly knows you well." Ren says.

"Shall we?" Ruby asks.

"Let's shall!" Nora declares before anyone else has time to reply.

 

* * *

 

Nora and Ruby run off ahead. "Don't go too far." Ren says.

"We won't!" Ruby says.

Nora makes no such promise. Not that Ren expects her to. He watches her with the smile still on his face. He notices how close to Ruby she stays, and how active she tries to keep her.

He also notices how quiet Jaune is being. "Is something wrong?" he asks.

"Huh?" Jaune says. "No, nothing's wrong."

 _He is still a bad liar,_ Ren thinks to himself.

He's proven right when Jaune asks, "Hey Ren? Do you think you could use your Semblance on me? Just for a minute."

"My Semblance conceals negative emotions. It doesn't remove them. If there is a problem, you should confront it directly."

"But nothing happened. It was just a dumb dream. And it won't leave me alone..."

Ren frowns.

Jaune takes this as encouragement. He's about to keep talking when Ruby shouts, "Hey!"

Jaune and Ren look up.

Ruby is racing away from a weapons stall, a large blonde woman with an eyepatch over her right eye looking after her quizzically. Nora's hot on her trail, unfolding Magnhild into its hammer form.

Jaune and Ren hurry after them, drawing their weapons as well.

In a dark and narrow cave a little off the street, there's a group of people gathered around something that keeps trying to scream. The walls are too close together for Ruby or Nora to use their weapons, but that doesn't stop Ruby from pointing Crescent Rose in sniper form at the crowd. "Leave them alone!" she yells. Her voice reverberates loudly around the cave. Some of them turn. They're all men.

Nora puts a hand on Ruby's arm. "Shh. The ears." she says.

Ruby looks downcast for a moment, but her arms remain steady.

One of the men steps forward. "Faunus lovers, huh?" he says. "You're welcome to join him. Those fancy weapons won't be doing you much good in here."

"Helloooo?" Nora says. "Can you _not see_ the kickass rifle she's pointing right at your chest??"

Another man steps forward. He and the first exchange smirks. "You can't get all of us. We only need one to take you down."

"You hear that?" Ruby says. "Sounds like they can't see you either."

Nora rolls her neck from side to side. Her eyes positively crackle. "Well that's no good. I better check their eyesight by punching their lights out."

Ren finally speaks up. "Ruby." She turns to look at him. "If you're going to fight, use this." He offers one of his pistols.

The mob sees her hesitate. "Let's get 'em!" someone howls. They rush forward.

Ruby freezes. Even with her Semblance she doesn't think she'll have enough time to stow Crescent Rose away and take Ren's offer.

Ren raises his other arm, ready to fire.

Nora gets into a fighting stance that would remind Ruby a lot of Yang if Ruby wasn't busy.

Jaune squeezes between Ren and Ruby and stands in front of the team, his own weapons at the ready.

The mob is drawing closer. Ruby wills her muscles to respond, but they won't. They can't.

She's useless.

Just like she was with Penny. And Pyrrha. And Yang.

And just as all these thoughts start racing around inside her head like they're using her Semblance when she herself can't, a song begins to fill the air.

Ruby knows she's not imagining it or the effect it's having on her. Her muscles begin to untense themselves. It's taking everything she has to remain standing. Each of the angry humans in front of them trips over their own feet. Nora mumbles something about waffles as her arms fall to her sides. Ren blinks a lot, like he's trying to fight off the urge to meditate. Jaune is doing his best to hold onto Crocea Mors.

None of them can stop the woman with white-blonde hair as she steps into the cave. All the voices in the song are coming from her. They sing of a broken circle, and Ruby can barely focus on the dark-skinned woman who's busily and brutally incapacitating each of the humans in the pile. She leaves them all against the wall, and approaches the Faunus in the far corner. His wings are tattered, and even with the song continuing to emanate from the woman, who Ruby swears dimly that she should know, he cringes away from her.

In a voice that is nothing like any of the others that seem to be coming from her, she says, "The authorities will be here soon. If you do not wish to speak to them, you should come with me."

As the song comes to a close and Ruby finds that she can move again, the Faunus shakes his head. The woman turns away.

The design on her sash is what first catches Ruby's eye: it's a bunch of diamonds. She'd been meaning to ask about that after the first match of the tournament, but everything had gotten away from her, just like it always does.

"Do I...know you?" she says.

The woman looks down at her. "We fought in the tournament." she says in her deep deep voice that makes the walls of the cave thrum with some kind of energy. _Thrum's a funny word,_ Ruby thinks. _Thrum._ She must be tired. "You are...Ruby." Ruby nods. The woman looks at Jaune and Nora and Ren, all of whom are regarding her with understandable caution. "This is not your team." the woman says.

"They are now." Ruby says sadly. She turns to them, wanting to introduce her, but she draws a blank. "What was your name again?"

"Arslan." the woman says. "I am sorry for involving you all in my Semblance. I did not wish for things to get...complicated."

"That was your Semblance?" Jaune asks.

The woman nods. A groan from one of the men draws her attention. "This is not the time or the place." she says. "Where can I find you?"

"Um..." Ruby says. As much as she would like to trust this woman, she wonders what Qrow would have to say about her sudden appearance right as things had been about to get 'complicated'. "How about we help you get these guys to someone who knows what to do with them? Like, do they have police here in Haven, or...?"

"We outrank the police." Arslan says. "But I would not trust in my mercy if I were made responsible for this scum."

Ruby sees several of the men shiver at Arslan's final word. "Well, we could send someone with you to get them while we wait here?"

Arslan considers it. "The one with dark hair perhaps. His silence would be welcome."

Ren holsters his weapons. "It would be an honor."

Arslan looks darkly at the men. "You think you can handle them?" she asks.

"We've handled worse." Nora says. She leans against the wall across from them and points Magnhild and all its six barrels meaningfully at them.

Arslan grunts. She leaves without another word.

Ren nods to his teammates. Unsurprisingly his gaze lingers on Nora for a moment. Then he hurries after Arslan.

Ruby sighs. She finally trusts her hands to allow her to bundle up Crescent Rose and store it at her waist.

"That...happened." she says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arslan is Turkish and Mongolian for "Lion", but I write her like Sagat from Street Fighter. Which is ironic, because his motif is a tiger.  
> Anyway, I'm not sure how I feel about this one. What do you all think?


	5. Jasmine, Yang, CFVY

As Yang makes her way downstairs, she sees Velvet on the couch. Velvet looks up and waves with a smile.

Coco turns around from her seat in the armchair. She lowers her glasses with a smile of her own. "Yang. Come join us."

"Okay." Yang says. She sits down on Velvet's left. "What's going on?"

"We were just talking. And thinking." Velvet says. "Mostly thinking."

"Yeah. I know that feeling. I was doing the same with Blake."

Silence falls across the room. Coco puts her glasses back up. They don't cover her eyebrows though, so Yang can see how furrowed they are.

"Where's your jacket?" Velvet asks finally.

"I gave it to Glynda. She had a nosebleed. No tissues." Yang covers the end of her stub with her hand self-consciously.

Velvet notices. She hesitantly puts one of her own hands on Yang's leg. "I think it's the first time I've seen you without anything covering it." she says.

"Really?" Yang says. Velvet nods. Yang leans back against the couch, not coincidentally burying her arm in the cushions.

"It's part of your identity." Coco says.

Yang is glad she can't see Coco's eyes any more. She thinks she can feel them on her stub, even with the cushions concealing it. Hers and Velvet's.

She doesn't know what to say.

Coco sighs. "I mean, I do kinda get where you're coming from."

Yang looks up. "You do?"

For a moment, Coco doesn't answer. Then she asks, "You wanna know something?"

Yang shrugs. She's staring at the wall between the bookcase and the door to the kitchen.

Coco takes a deep breath, then takes her glasses off, setting them down on the table. "I'm transgender." she says. Yang turns to look at her. Her voice is shaky. "I was assigned male at birth. Never felt like it. And... There are a _lot_ of times I just want to pretend. Pretend that- That I've always been like this. I mean I have inside, but..."

Velvet leans over and puts her other hand on Coco's leg.

Coco squeezes it gently. She smiles. "But it's part of my identity. And I- I know that losing an arm and being born in the wrong body aren't nearly the same thing. I wanted to tell you, so you don't feel like you have to hide anything from us."

Yang fights back tears. "You guys are gonna make me cry again." she whispers.

"You can if you want to." Coco says. "Goodness knows you deserve it."

"Everyone does." Velvet says.

Yang laughs shakily. "Come here." She stands up. Velvet and Coco do as well. Yang inches around Velvet with a little smile and hugs Coco hard. "I wish I had my other arm." she whispers. "So I could- So I could hug you both at the same time."

Coco hugs her back.

"I can go and get it." Velvet offers.

"No, it's fine." Yang says. She lets go of Coco. "It's the whole...thing..." She shakes her head in exasperation and hugs Velvet.

Velvet laughs as Yang lifts her off the ground. Coco smiles.

"Thank you." Yang whispers. "Both of you. All of you. You...you didn't have to stay."

"We wanted to." Velvet says. She tries hugging Yang back, but her arms aren't long enough. "Now put me down so I can huggle you!"

Yang does so. "Sorry!"

Velvet laughs again. "It's okay!" she says. She wraps her arms around Yang and hugs her as tightly as she can. "It's okay." she says again.

Yang hugs her back. Coco watches, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

There's a knock at the door.

Yang looks up.

"I got it." Coco says. She hops over the back of the couch and heads over to the door. "Hey girl." she says upon opening it.

"Hey yourself." a familiar voice says. "Is Yang around?"

"Come on in Jas." Yang calls. She gives Velvet one more squeeze before she lets go. "What are _you_ doing all the way out here?"

"You said I could stop by." Jasmine says as Coco closes the door behind her. "Said, and I quote: 'c u tmrw?'"

"Oh yeah." Yang says. "I almost forgot."

"If it's a problem I can go-" Jasmine begins.

"No, no! It's fine!" Yang hastens to assure her. She tries to laugh.

Everyone's looking at her again.

"So... You two know each other?" Yang asks.

"Yeah. She called in the fire before I did." Coco says.

"Saw it on my way in the other night. Had the AT guys on the line, told 'em to send the fire department to the far end of the island."

"Oh. Thank you." Yang says. She looks away. She can feel the fire simmer inside her all of a sudden.

"Don't worry about it." Jasmine says.

"She stopped by a little after you all left." Coco says. "Wanted to be sure they got there?" She looks at Jasmine for confirmation. Jasmine nods.

Yang doesn't know what to say. She tries to blame it on Jasmine's muscles. _Has she been working out?_

"Come in, sit down." Coco says. Yang smiles shyly at each of them in turn as Jasmine accepts Coco's invitation. "This is Velvet. She's my nicer half. Well, nicer quarter. The other two are upstairs in the shower."

"Pleasure to meet you, Jas...?" Velvet says. She offers a hand.

"Jasmine." the other girl says. "Let's leave it at that."

"Okay." Velvet says. She waits until everyone's seated. "Can I get you anything? Some water?"

"Why you asking me?" Jasmine says. "If I want anything I can get it. You're a Faunus, right? Don't feel like you have to-"

"Jas!" Yang says. Velvet is recoiling. Jasmine looks at Yang. "It's all right. Velvet just wants to help."

"I can do it!" Jasmine says again. She stands up abruptly, banging her shin against the table. Cursing and muttering under her breath, she storms into the kitchen. More banging noises follow suit.

Yang winces. She turns to apologize to Coco and Velvet, only to find Velvet burying her face in Coco's shirt and Coco stroking her back. It takes her a moment too long to remember. "Oh Velvet. I'm sorry." Yang whispers.

Velvet doesn't respond. Yang is sure she must have heard her.

Maybe she just can't. Yang knows what that's like.

"Is there anything I can do?" Yang asks Coco.

Coco gestures towards the kitchen with her head. "Ask Jas to tone it down." she mouths.

Yang nods and makes her way to the kitchen. She wishes she could hug Velvet like Velvet's taken to hugging her. _From the look of it she needs her space right now. Like..._ _L_ _ike Blake._

She closes the door quietly behind herself.

Jasmine's standing by the window, drinking water angrily.

"Coco wanted me to ask you to tone it down," Yang says. "But I guess you already did..." She's out of words again.

Jasmine sets her glass down on the counter. "Do they hate me yet?" Yang still doesn't know what to say. "It's my first full day meeting them and _already_ I fudged things up." She doesn't say fudged.

"I-" Yang says. She pauses. Jasmine doesn't look at her. "I don't think- I don't think Velvet has it in her to hate anyone. Even bad people. And you are not a bad person. You just...overcompensated a little."

"Like my first time in the cockpit." Jasmine says. "That thing was so rigged. I told you the instructor had it in for me."

Yang pulls out her chair and sits down in it. She rests her head on her hand. She sighs.

Jasmine takes another sip.

Even through the door Yang can hear the rumble of Yatsuhashi's voice. If she strains a bit she thinks she can hear everyone else. Except Blake.

She stops straining.

"Do you wanna talk about anything?" Jasmine finally asks.

Yang shakes her head a little.

"Are you sure? You had me worrying last night. Had to step out of the club, and that place ain't cheap."

"Which place?" Yang says.

"His And Hers And All The Others."

Yang blushes.

"I said you didn't wanna know." Jasmine says.

Yang takes a chance by looking up.

Jasmine is smiling crookedly.

Yang looks back down.

Jasmine sets her glass upside down in the sink. "I'm gonna go." she says.

"You just got here." Yang says, not looking up again.

"Yeah, but I feel like I'm in the way. You've got so many people here, and... And it's not fair, you know, for me to walk in after all this time and expect you to just open up to me."

Yang doesn't say anything.

Jasmine pats her on the shoulder. "You remember where you can find me?"

Yang still doesn't say anything.

"Okay. You got my number."

Jasmine's hand is almost on the door handle when Yang says, "It's not enough."

Jasmine turns. "Huh?"

"The people. It's not enough." Yang puts her face in her hand. "It's not enough. She- She left me. And she- She came back. And I still- I still love- I still love her. And it _hurts_."

Jasmine doesn't hesitate. She opens the door, but not to leave. Yang's friends look up. Velvet gets to her feet as the sound of Yang fighting back tears reaches her.

"Get in here." Jasmine says quietly.

And they do. Jasmine stands back to let them in. She stands back to let them hug Yang. She unravels her arms and slithers a piece of her string into the pile of people.

She rests it on Yang's leg. It's the only part of her she can reach.

 

* * *

 

Blake doesn't deserve to think about Yang, to miss when they were in love. She knows this.

But she can't stop thinking about Yang's lips on hers or the warmth of her body that she seems to need so much.

It's summer, but she's _cold_.

She sits on the bed, curled up into a ball, thinking about everything and nothing. She hardly even notices the door opening until she hears a bark.

She looks at the doorway. There's no one at eye level, but closer to the ground...

It's Zwei. Of course it is.

"What do you want?" she asks.

He doesn't answer. Of course he doesn't.

She uncurls her body. Her muscles scream at her.

"I know I closed that door." she says.

He tilts his head to one side.

"Are you..." She averts her eyes. She knows it's stupid of her, but she does. "Are you...real?"

He barks. He has no idea what she's talking about.

She lowers herself stiffly to his level. She reaches out to touch his head.

He licks her hand.

" _Eww_." she says. She quickly pushes herself to her feet. "Only you could make me actively seek out water."

She hobbles down the hall to the bathroom to wash her hands.

He waddles after her.

She sees his reflection in the mirror and turns to glare at him. "I was not trying to pet you. I was trying to see if you were real." Her expression softens slightly. "It was Yang's idea."

He wags his tail, as if he recognizes the name.

She dries her hands with the hand towel on a rack to the side, then looks down at him. "Move." she tells him.

He keeps wagging his tail.

"Move!" she tells him again.

"Blake?" she hears Velvet call from downstairs. "'s everything all right?"

She notices her fists are clenched. "Fine." she calls in return. _Not yelling at the dog or anything. Though I'm pretty sure he'd understand me..._

"Okay!" Velvet says.

Silence follows. It's not absolute. If she listens closely she can hear a hint of other voices downstairs, though not what they're saying.

Yang's voice is quieter than all the others.

Blake can't help but keep listening. She even forgets Zwei by her feet, who eventually wanders off, bored by the lack of attention being paid to him.

 

* * *

 

"Are you okay Velvet?" Yang asks as Velvet comes back to the couch.

"I'm better." Velvet says hesitantly. "What about you though?"

"Me? I'm fine. Just cried my eyes out." She immediately wishes she'd said something less worrying.

"It's the third time today. That we know about." Coco says.

Yang shrugs. "I'm fine." she says again.

She's not sure which is worse: the glance CFVY shares, or the way they look at her afterwards.

Jasmine sighs. When it becomes clear that Yang is done talking for the moment, she shifts in her seat. Velvet glances up shyly. "Hey." Jasmine says. Velvet looks away. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's okay." Velvet says. She bites her lip to keep it from trembling. Coco puts her arm around her.

"It's not though!" Jasmine says. "I freaked out, and then you freaked out... If there's anything I can do to make it up to you-"

Coco pulls Velvet close. She presses her lips to the side of Velvet's head, just below one of her Faunus ears.

"Velvet doesn't do well with conflict." Fox says. "What was it you called it the other day? Ah yes. 'Interpersonal tension.'"

"Treat her like you would anyone else of your species." Yatsuhashi says.

Jasmine frowns, but she nods. "I can try and do that." She sits up. "You wanna fresh start?" She holds out her hand. "Hi, I'm Jasmine."

Velvet sits up. She wipes her eyes and holds out a hand of her own. "I'm Velvet." she says. She tries to smile. "Velvet Scarlatina."

They shake.

Yang smiles. "There you go, see? You're not so bad with people."

"I guess." Jasmine says. She smiles as well.

Everyone is quiet. Coco rubbing Velvet's shoulder is the only sound that most of them can hear.

"So!" Velvet says cheerily. Coco withdraws her hand. "Are you a Hunter as well Jasmine?"

Jasmine shakes her head. "Nah. Just a pilot. Dad said I could be if I wanted to, but _pfffffft_." She sticks a middle finger out in no particular direction as she blows a raspberry. "I've been helping with the evac."

"That's right! I thought you looked familiar!"

Jasmine smiles again.

Yang is quiet. Something about what just happened is making her think.

Coco catches on. "Everything all right?" she asks.

Yang frowns. "It's nothing."

_I know I said I'd try and get her to be nicer to you. But it can wait. Right? There's no rush._

The lead weight settles in Yang's stomach regardless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too much going on? Or not enough. I can't tell.  
> I am unfamiliar with transgender people, so if I do something wrong, I'm relying on y'all to tell me.


	6. Blake Is Still Not Well And Neither Is Yang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write some Yang stuff today but nothing's coming and I'm feeling anxious for some reason, so here.

She needs something to do to keep herself occupied. To keep from worrying about Blake and Coco.

But she doesn't want to interrupt the conversation between Jasmine and Velvet that she can't even bring herself to follow.

She waits for them to stop for a moment. She knows that it's selfish to just jump in like this. She can't help it.

"Hey, uh, Vel- Velvet?" Velvet looks at her. Her heart skips a beat. _Huh? When did that start?_ "Do you...do you want a massage or something?"

"A wha'?" Velvet looks puzzled.

"You- I want to try getting better at it. I did it with- With Blake the other day, and..." She stops, unsure where she thought she was going with that.

"Okay. Can I can do your hair later after that?"

Yang smiles. "You still want to?"

"Sure! I think you'd look great in pigtails, or some braids..."

_"Pigtails?! Pigtails?!?"_

_"I wasn't prepared for this..."_

Yang shakes her head. "I mean, yeah! Sure! I'll get my arm from upstairs." She looks around the living room. "Anyone else?"

Jasmine raises a hand lazily.

Coco and the rest of Velvet's team decline once again. "Have fun." Coco says as Yang gets up. "Try not to work too hard."

Yang tries to smile before she heads up the stairs. She wonders if it holds.

The door to the guest room is closed. She tries not to think about it as she passes by.

Her arm is on the nightstand, as usual. She picks it up. She doesn't need to look while she puts it on any more, which is good. It feels so strange to watch it go on and respond to what she wants it to do.

She's barely fastened it on before Weiss Junior is shouting at her. "She might be hurting in there!"

Yang winces. "Hurt by what?" She's not thinking about it.

"Do I even need to say it?"

Yang remembers the way Blake's hand had shook at breakfast the other day. She remembers the scars up and down her forearms that she had seen that night in the moonlit ruins of Mountain Glen.

Putting the pieces together makes her want to throw up.

She's knocking on the guest room door what must be mere seconds later. It doesn't feel like it though. Everything feels _slow._

"Blake?" she says while she knocks. "Are you okay?"

"Yang?" she thinks she hears from inside. "What's wrong?"

"I need to see- You. I need to see you. Please. Open up."

The door opens.

Blake looks worried.

Yang's mouth doesn't work right. She holds out her arms, hoping Blake can understand her.

"What? What do you need?" Blake asks.

Yang thrusts out her arms again. _Why won't she do it? Did she-_

Blake finally does the same. Yang reaches out. Her real hand is shaking. Her right one can't, at least not as much.

"Can I-" she croaks. She hovers her metal fingers over Blake's wrist, not grasping, not holding, not yet.

"Whatever helps." Blake says quietly.

Yang takes hold of Blake's wrist as gently as she can. She rolls up Blake's sleeves and traces her real fingers along Blake's forearm. Blake doesn't ask what's happening. Yang almost wishes she would, though she doesn't know what she might be able to say. "I..." she tries saying. The scars here are faint and faded like the light inside herself. "Why?" she asks.

Blake doesn't meet her eyes. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does!" She tries not to shout.

Blake doesn't flinch. That's good at least.

She's still not looking at her. That's not good.

"We said- We said we wouldn't avoid each other."

"I'm not."

"You might be here but you're not talking!"

"Yes I am."

"Blake, you're-" She can almost feel the servos in her hand tightening her grip. She yanks it back before she can hurt Blake. "I want to help you."

"You said we needed to help ourselves before we help each other." Blake sounds bitter. It hurts.

Yang tries to say something. Anything. Nothing's coming out.

Except fire from her real fingertips.

She'd forgotten about that.

She'd forgotten about the message from her mother.

_No. Summer was my mother._

_No, she was my_ mom _. Raven is my mother._

She clutches her head with both her hands. Her mind is racing. It won't stop.

Blake is finally able to look at Yang. The fire coming from her fingertips isn't that big a deal by itself. Not like the heat vision the other day. What is a big deal is the damage it might be doing to her Aura, and after that, Yang's beloved hair.

Yang doesn't see Blake looking at her.

Blake doubts she can see much of anything.

She reaches out a hand and puts it on Yang's wrist. Yang doesn't seem to notice that either.

"Yang." she says. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"Uh" is all Yang can say. It's a groan.

The muscles running through Yang's wrist begin to tense even more than they have been. Blake has to pull on Yang's arm before Yang starts to move it away from her head.

The flames are still there, sputtering but constant.

Yang stares at them.

Blake stares at Yang's face.

"Ra-" Yang starts to say. "Raven said it's 'the sins of our family'. What does that _mean_?"

"What?" Blake asks.

The confusion in her voice causes Yang to look up. She's confused as well for a moment, before she remembers. "That's right, you weren't there." She digs into one of her pockets with her right hand, Blake trying not to look at it. "Here. It's the Scroll we found in the cottage." She passes it to Blake.

"Are you sure...?"

Yang nods. "I want you to see it. I want to know I didn't just imagine it before I-" She looks down at her hand. "I need to get this under control." she says.

Blake reluctantly lets go of Yang's wrist and unfurls the Scroll. It doesn't take her long to find it.

Yang closes her eyes when she hears Raven's voice again. The flames become brighter.

"I- I don't know what to say." Blake says as the recording comes to an end. Yang opens her eyes. Blake frowns. "Wait..." She starts the message over. Yang's shoulders tense.

"What is it?" she asks shakily.

For a long moment Blake doesn't answer. Then she presses pause and peers closely at a part of the screen Yang can't quite see when she looks up.

"What is it?" she asks again.

Blake's eyes go wide. "It's nothing." she says, hastily rolling up the Scroll.

"Blake." Yang says.

Blake wishes she was a better liar. _I shouldn't tell her,_ she thinks.

" _Please._ I have to know."

She takes a breath. "There's a mirror in the background. Towards the end I could see...someone I don't recognize. But-"

"But what?"

"Behind _her_ , it's- It took me a while to recall where I'd seen them." She can't put it off any longer. "It's the couple from the boat."

"What?" Yang feels dumb for not understanding the significance Blake has clearly ascribed to this.

"Oh. Y- You didn't see them."

"What did they look like? Were they coming here? Are they-" _Are they the ones who left the Scroll why didn't we see them who are they what's their relation to my mother what is going on what is going ON_

Blake can't take it any more. She flings her arms around Yang so forcefully that even Yang takes a step back. "I'm sorry." she whispers. "I shouldn't have told you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine- It's fine." Yang says. The fire from her fingertips makes returning the hug impossible. "Uh, how...how are you?"

Blake doesn't respond.

Yang gradually brings her right hand up. It stops halfway to Blake's head, where she had wanted it to go.

Blake can feel Yang struggling to move it.

She looks up.

Yang looks down.

In another time and place it would feel like such a romantic moment. The pain in Yang's eyes drives those thoughts from Blake's mind.

"Yang?" Velvet's voice comes from downstairs. "You okay?"

Yang winces. Blake withdraws, worried that she's hurt Yang again. She feels the slightest touch of Yang's metal fingers against her back. She inhales, suddenly, quietly, sharply.

Without speaking, Yang is urging her to stay.

"Yang?" Velvet calls again.

Blake can hear footsteps on the stairs. Someone is coming.

Yang gulps, drawing Blake's focus back to her.

She doesn't know what to say.

"I..." Yang says. She's shrinking in on herself. "I'm not..."

Blake doesn't know what to do. She puts a hand on one of Yang's shoulders.

Velvet turns the corner. She stops in the doorway.

A moment later, Yang says breathlessly, "I'm not okay."

Velvet doesn't understand what's going on. She doesn't understand how Yang can have fire coming out of her fingers. (It's real too; she can feel the heat from here. _What's it matter if it's real? She's in pain._ )

She tries not to think about it. She tries not to think about what happened to make Yang cry again. She tries not to think about how Coco's going to react to all of this.

She rushes up behind Yang and puts her arms around her. She whispers soothing nothings into her back. She can feel hot wet tears falling down upon her arms.

"It's okay. It's okay. I've got you. Blake's here. She's here. Let it out."

She hears a familiar noise from in front of her. Blake is kissing Yang. Probably not on the mouth, after the other night. _The cheek maybe?_

Yang's heartbeat is a _boom boom boom boom_ in all four of her ears. She's shaking from the weight of her sobs.

Velvet feels another set of arms go around Yang, just above her own. They're coming from in front; she can feel the hands awkwardly touching her sides. _Must be Blake again. God, I can't even imagine how she's feelin'._

A hand on her shoulder. She looks up.

It's Coco.

"Let's take this outside." she says. It's something she's said many times before, usually with the promise of pain to whoever she says it to.

There's none of that in her voice now, but Velvet can't help her ears drooping as she tries to help Yang to move.

There's still pain to come. She can feel it.

 

* * *

 

They all have to help Yang down the stairs. Blake walks in front, trying to focus on Yang to avoid looking at Coco. Coco's walking behind while Velvet is on Yang's left, holding Yang's arm gently and murmuring equally as gently. Yang's head is down. Her eyes are closed.

Jasmine looks up. She's on her feet in an instant. "What happened?"

"It's my fault." Blake says. She's still not looking at Coco, but Coco is looking at her. She can feel it. "I was-"

"Outside." Coco says again. She looks at Fox and Yatsuhashi. "Boys?"

Fox gets up.

Yatsuhashi says to no one in particular, "He just got comfortable."

Coco looks at him. "What was that?"

Yatsuhashi raises his arms above his head, holding Zwei in both hands. Zwei does not seem to have noticed.

"Aww." Velvet coos. "He's _sleeping_."

"He's got a bed right there." Coco says, trying and failing to sound stern.

Yatsuhashi tilts Zwei from side to side. Zwei still doesn't notice.

Coco sighs. "Okay. She'd probably appreciate him being out there with her. I'll get the bags for us to lay down on. You guys take her to the tree stu-" She stops. "You know the place, right?"

Velvet nods. She opens the door with her free hand.

"Not you Blake." Coco says.

Blake's heart leaps into her throat.

"Coco..." Velvet whispers. She blinks in surprise.

Yang had whispered it too.

"Go easy on her." She's looking Coco in the eyes, at least Yang thinks she is. She's so nervous that she can barely stop blinking, and Coco's still got her glasses on- "Please."

Coco takes them off slowly, and starts walking up to her.

Yang flinches and looks off to the side. She can't meet her eyes any more.

Coco takes Yang's face in both of her hands. "You bet." She smiles, and tilts Yang's head down a little so she can kiss her firmly on the forehead. Coco lets her lips linger there to provide as much comfort as she can. She can feel Yang's face working as she tries to hold back tears.

All too soon the moment ends, and Fox, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Yang, Jasmine, and Zwei are headed outside. Coco closes the door behind them, so as not to let the bugs in, and turns to Blake.

Blake is backed up against the back of the couch. She's staring down at the floor.

Coco sighs. "So." she says. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been a real butt to you the past couple days."

Blake doesn't respond. She doesn't look up.

"The other night, when you- When you ran... I thought 'this is it. She's leaving again.'" She steps closer to Blake. She notices how Blake continues to pull herself in. She doesn't know what that means. She leans back against the couch a fair distance from Blake. "Everyone else seemed convinced you were going to stay. But I'm- I'm team leader. That means making tough calls sometimes."

Blake thinks of Ruby. She wonders where Ruby is. She remembers Yang mentioning her the other day, but the details elude her.

She doesn't speak.

"'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...'" Coco frowns. "I didn't think you were going to stay. Even after that talk we had the second day, I didn't trust you. I still don't think I trust you. But trying to make you leave, and acting like a butt; it's just making things worse around here." She looks up at Blake. Blake still doesn't look at her. "I need you to promise me you're not going to run away again."

Blake is silent for so long Coco wonders if she's losing time the way Yang had. Coco shifts in place. She's getting impatient.

"Blake?" she says at last.

Blake jumps. "Sorry." she croaks. It's a horrible sound. Coco almost wants to get her a glass of water or something. "I- I've been- I've been trying to get myself to...promise that. I know how much I...hurt her last time-"

"You do?" Coco interjects.

Blake flinches.

"Sorry." Coco says. "Sorry. Go on."

Blake takes a while to find her train of thought again. "But... You don't know what he's like. You don't know what he- What he _promised_ me he would do."

"Who's 'he'? Sun?"

"No." Blake says. "He was behind the broadcast. I know it. It showed Yang's _arm_. He's the one who took it."

Coco bites her lip hard. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about." she says. "The promise...?"

"You're...you're right not to trust me. I don't even trust myself. Every time I see her, it hurts. It's all my fault."

Coco continues biting her lip. It hurts too.

"I run. It's what I do. I ran from my parents. I ran from- From Adam, twice..." Her voice does something strange when she says that name. "I ran from _her_. That's four. Lucky number." She laughs hollowly.

Coco can taste blood. She licks her lips before she says, "Whatever. We can do this later, all right? I'm sure Yang wants to see you."

"What makes you so sure?" Blake asks.

"She loves you." Coco says simply. "And I've got a feeling you love her too."

Blake stares at the floor.


	7. Super Sai-Yang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you couldn't tell from the last time I uploaded, this chapter kicked my ass.

Yang's eyes are red from crying, not from anger. Velvet notices this as Yang stares off into the distance from her seat on the tree stump, towards the front of the house and the living room, or so Velvet thinks.

Jasmine's searching the forest. No one knows why except her.

Yatsuhashi is cradling Zwei gently in his enormous arms. He catches Velvet watching him and almost smiles. She smiles back.

Fox is...being Fox. Despite her relationship with him (and with Coco and Yatsuhashi) Velvet still finds him hard to read sometimes. It's ironic how he manages to give so little of himself away, given his ability to read people's Auras. She has that problem with Yatsuhashi sometimes too, but at least he'll tell you what's on his mind if you ask him nicely enough.

Velvet hears Jasmine crashing back through the woods towards them. It's not really crashing, she supposes; she can just hear it better than humans like Yang and Coco might.

Jasmine finally appears at the edge of the woods. She looks at Yang for a moment before she comes to her side. "Couple of good trees back there." she says quietly. "If you want I could stretch out between 'em as a hammock or something, and you could take a nap."

Yang shakes her head fearfully. "You need- You need to run. I can't keep it inside much longer."

"Keep what inside?" Velvet asks. "It's okay to let go."

"No!" Yang almost shouts. Velvet and Jasmine jump. Fox and Yatsuhashi look up. _Let go._ "I got a message from mom-" She grits her teeth. "-my _mother_." she corrects herself. "I have..some sort of...fire...power. I can- _Feel it_. Ever since that night. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt ANYONE. But- Your Semblance-"

"Your mother's dead." Velvet says, as gently as her words will allow.

"Slow down." Jasmine says at the same time. "What do you mean 'fire power'?"

But Yang is silent once again.

Velvet tries not to sigh before kissing Yang on the cheek.

Yang closes her eyes as Velvet's gentle lips brush against her skin. Her heart beats faster, but Velvet doesn't seem to hear.

Yang feels hands settle down on her shoulders. She tenses.

"Sshh." Jasmine says. "Let me."

"I was- I was suppose- I was supposed to do it for- For Velv- For Velvet-"

"It can wait." Velvet says from beside her. "I'll be fine. You need it more."

"No!" Yang shouts, loudly this time. "I promised!"

She can feel Velvet flinch from the noise.

She hates herself.

"Coco!" Velvet gets to her feet.

She's leaving.

"Holy shit!" Jasmine pulls her hands back.

She's leaving.

"Yang!"

_"Go easy on her."_

_Where's Blake?_

_Did she leave?_

There's a tingling between her shoulder blades.

With the last of her self control she reaches for her right arm and fumblingly unclasps it.

 

* * *

 

"What's going on?" Coco asks.

Velvet stops just short of her. In an instant she registers the tenseness in Coco's face. She turns.

Yang is doubled over. Her hair is twitching. It seems to want to go upward, defying gravity.

And it's burning.

She holds out her hand. It's gripping her prosthetic arm.

She drops it.

In the sudden hush that's fallen, even the non-Faunus can hear the _thud_ as it hits the ground.

"Yang?" Coco says.

Her hair continues to rise.

It almost looks like something before Yang starts to scream.

An invisible force pushes all of them away, kicking up dirt and grass. Most of them have to shield their eyes. Coco and Fox don't.

"YANG!" Coco shouts.

Through her glasses, she can see Yang rising into the air. Her back is arched, her face tipped toward the sky. Her hair is streaming up past her face. The end of each hair is enveloped in a kind of haze.

Coco tries to move toward her, but the wind, or whatever it is, is forcing her back. She claps her hands over her beret to keep it in place.

Suddenly she realizes how hot it's getting. The sun is slipping down below the horizon. _But at the same time,_ she thinks, _it's rising up as well._

She grits her teeth.

"YANG!" she shouts again.

Yang doesn't answer.

 _At least she seems to have stopped screaming,_ Coco thinks. _But what is that_ noise _?_

Zwei is on his feet. Coco seems to remember him being blasted out of Yatsuhashi's arms a little while ago. He's barking at Yang, but he doesn't seem angry. He seems confused. Almost frightened.

Coco sees Blake moving past her slowly, fighting against the wind.

Two Blakes.

The one in front flickers and is blown away, disappearing into nothing moments later.

Another one takes its place.

 _It's her Semblance,_ Coco realizes.

"Go Blake!" Velvet shouts.

"She's too far off the ground!" Fox says.

And she is. Yang is almost as high as the treetops now.

"What is going on?" Coco growls.

No one seems to know.

Blake is running out of shadow clones. Coco thinks she can see her Aura shimmer around her.

_That's not good._

Blake feels a sudden blast of heat as another of her clones disintegrates. It's her third. She knows she could produce more if her mind would only cooperate. _This is all my fault..._ _I told her about-_

She shakes her head and tries to concentrate. She tries to take a step forward, but she can't. She loses her footing and slides back.

Suddenly someone catches her.

She looks up.

"Yats!" Coco shouts. Yatsuhashi looks at her. "Fastball! Go!"

Yatsuhashi nods. He points at Yang and makes a throwing motion with his free hand.

Blake nods and readies the last of her Aura.

He spins around in place a couple times before he throws her up to Yang.

For a moment she's afraid she's overshot the mark.

She calls a clone in front of her and bounces off it, wrapping Gambol Shroud's ribbon around Yang and pulling herself in.

Yang stays where she is.

She doesn't seem to notice.

"Yang!" Blake shouts. The heat and the noise are almost unbearable.

Yang looks down. Her hair is whipping around her face.

Her eyes have gone blank. Blanker than Fox's.

Something compels Blake to look up past Yang for a moment.

She does.

They might not be able to see it from the ground because of the trees.

But Blake can.

There's a dragon. Its tail is Yang's hair, and it seems like it's built out of fire, and it's roaring.

"Yang?" Blake shouts. With a trembling hand, she reaches out and touches Yang's face.

Yang blinks.

" **Blake?** " she says in a strange echoing voice.

Blake nods. "I'm here." she whispers. A tear falls onto her cheek. She can feel it evaporating into a puff of steam.

She can feel the dragon above looking down on her too. Its roar is slowly dying.

Yang blinks again. Her irises return. They're red.

"I-" Blake's voice catches in her throat. For a moment she just can't look at Yang.

They're very high up.

"I'm not running away any more." she says.

Yang's eyes are flickering erratically between red and purple.

Blake lets her hand fall.

"I promise." she says hoarsely.

For a moment she isn't sure if Yang can hear her.

Then Yang gasps, and her hair settles down, and her eyes return to purple before they close, and they're falling, they're falling fast, and Blake doesn't have any Aura left, and she's trying to wake Yang up, to save both of their lives, but it's not working, and she's _tired_ , she's so tired, and she's closing her eyes as well, and her lips find Yang's, like they always will, and she whispers "I love you" like it's the last thing she'll ever say, because it feels like it is, and-

 

* * *

 

_"Trapped."_

Trapped is what she feels.

She's looking at Blake, who's unconscious beside her.

She doesn't remember why, at least not all of it. Just enough to recall the way she felt without feeling as she rose into the air. It was the feeling she felt when she was in the cockpit of her favorite Airship, only even moreso.

Now she's back on the ground, with her friends all around her. She should be happy they're all here. Even Blake. Especially Blake. But she's not.

They're going to have to talk. _She's_ going to have to talk, and that makes her so uncomfortable she can't even explain it.

"Blake?" she says.

Blake doesn't respond.

"I'm... I'm scared." she says. She's surprised. She had thought she was too afraid to even say it out loud.

Then she looks down.

Her arm is there. Both of them. Whole. Like the day she was born, and unlike every day ever since.

"Oh." she says.

She wakes up.

 

* * *

 

Blake is still there. Her eyes are open this time.

Yang tries to tell herself it's the deja vu that's taking her breath away.

"Hey." she says, or thinks she says. Her voice is so quiet and hoarse that even she isn't sure she said anything.

"Hey." Blake says. She looks away for a moment. "I... I'm sorry." she says. Yang's heart lurches. "I kissed you." she whispers. "I thought we were going to die."

Yang reaches for her lips, briefly with her right arm, then with her left, the one she's lying on. Even that is enough to tire her out. Zwei is nestled between them. For once Blake doesn't have it in her to be angry at him.

"Why-"

"I just told you. I thought we were going to die." Blake says again.

"No." Yang croaks. "Why... That."

Blake looks at her. She doesn't understand.

Yang looks up at the sky. "How'd we- How'd we make it?"

"I don't know." Yang looks back down at Blake. Blake looks worried. "We did though, right?"

Yang holds out her hand as best she can. "Do you feel that?"

Blake puts her hand in Yang's. It feels good. Yang is grateful she's so tired. It makes it easier to resist the urge to pull Blake in for a hug.

Blake nods slightly.

Yang does too.

"Then we made it." she croaks.

Blake smiles a quarter of an inch.

Yang is too tired to. She tries to look around.

Blake frowns. "What?" she asks.

Yang mouths _where_.

"We're outside." Blake pauses to listen. "I heard voices before. But they've stopped. I think they're waiting for us."

Yang's shoulders slump.

"We don't have to." Blake almost adds what she's feeling ("We could run away."), but she doesn't. "You've been through a lot. I think they'd understand."

Yang doesn't respond. She can't. Her throat hurts too much.

"What do you need?" Blake asks. It's what Yang would say if their places were reversed.

Yang can't even shrug.

"Do you want some water?"

She closes her eyes. Blake tries not to panic.

"Yang?" Blake puts a hand on her face.

Yang flinches.

Something inside Blake starts screaming.

"Blake?" someone says.

She doesn't have to look up to know that it's Velvet.

"Did she wake up?"

Blake nods. She bites her lip to keep it from trembling.

"How is she? How are _you_?"

"She seemed tired." Blake says.

"You must be tired as well. Fox said he felt your Aura give out."

Blake nods again.

"I'll leave you two be. It's almost dinner, but we can bring some food out if you're hungry."

Blake nods again. "Thanks Velvet." She can't keep her eyes off Yang.

"Sure." Velvet says kindly.

Blake hears fabric rustle as Velvet stands up.

Suddenly Yang whispers something.

"What was that?" Velvet asks, unable to keep the sudden spike of awareness out of her voice.

Blake leans in close to Yang, even though she doesn't have to.

"She said-" Blake pauses. "She said she's sorry. She didn't want to frighten you."

Velvet appears out of the corner of Blake's eye. She rubs Yang's shoulder. "It's okay. We're all okay. Even Jasmine."

"What happened?" Yang barely manages to croak.

"She stretched herself out between some trees and caught you. Used up all her Aura too. Just like Blake." Blake thinks Velvet is smiling. "You've got so many people who care about you Yang. You're not alone."

Yang swallows hard. "Thanks Velvet." she whispers.

"She said thank you." Blake says to Velvet.

"I know. I heard." Velvet moves her hand from Yang's shoulder to Blake's. "Rest." she says again.

Blake wishes she could. Every time she closes her eyes she sees herself back at Beacon, with Yang unconscious on the other side of her, and the bandages covering Yang's stump, and the blood...

 

* * *

 

"How they doing?" Coco asks.

Velvet shakes her head. "They're tired. Blake could hardly look up, and Yang could hardly speak." She falters. "Even then- Even then, she made sure to apologize..."

Coco pulls her close. Fox and Yatsuhashi come to join them.

Jasmine's draped herself over the tree stump, gazing over at Yang and Blake.

"Gimme a break." she mutters in lingering disbelief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just as impatient for them to talk about things as you are, I can assure you.


	8. Hazel, Adam, Sienna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had bits and pieces of this written since a little while after Dread In The Air went live. Only finished it tonight.

Adam Taurus's headquarters are separate from those of the White Fang itself. They lie on the outskirts of the city, and while Hazel would be willing to concede it could be a recent development as part of the continuing fallout from Taurus's participation in the Fall of Beacon, he would also be willing to concede that it's just as, if not more, likely that the separation had happened much earlier.

From what Her Grace herself has told Hazel, Adam Taurus is not the type to be satisfied with anything that he had.

So Hazel will wait. He will watch, and he will listen. He will talk, if he needs to, but more important, he will judge just how long they should string this self-important bull-man-child along before they leave him out to dry.

For now, he knocks once on the door.

And he waits.

A metal slat opens. "Who are you?" someone demands.

"Hazel Rainart." he says. "I'm told I'll be expected."

The voice laughs. "What's your Faunus trait?"

"Been told it's impolite to ask."

"It's even more impolite to knock on the door of a White Fang overseer with nothing to show. You'd better leave, or we'll make you leave. In pieces."

"Taurus might not be happy 'bout that." Hazel says. He hates name-dropping, but if it gets the job done...

Someone presses themselves against the door. Their voice is closer, and eager. Very eager. "Maybe we'll bring you to him. He'd make you _suffer_ before you die."

Hazel sighs. "I don't like one-sided conv'rsations. I don't like 'em in gen'ral. So I'm cuttin' this one off. 'Kastanophobia'."

"That supposed to mean something?"

"Ask him." Hazel walks away and stands with his back to the door and his arms folded.

He waits.

After a while, the door opens.

"'Bout time." he says, already turning.

"Come in man, come in." the voice says. "Quick!"

Hazel walks inside.

The door slams shut behind him.

"Did anybody see you?" the Faunus asks. He has long pointed teeth.

Hazel shakes his head once.

"Okay, okay, uh-" The Faunus licks his teeth nervously. "You...come on...upstairs, uh-"

Hazel heads upstairs, the Faunus following close behind.

"First door on the left." the Faunus says, pointing a shaking hand.

"Thanks." Hazel says.

He's about to knock when the Faunus interjects, "You, uh, you put in a good word for me, okay?"

"I'll tell him y' did your job." Hazel says.

He knocks.

The door opens. The Faunus disappears down the stairs.

Adam Taurus stands on the other side. "Where have you been?" he demands.

Hazel shrugs. "Only couple days on foot."

"You walked?"

"I walk fast." He crosses his arms again. "When do we get t' see her?"

Taurus lets go of the doorknob. "Soon enough. The preparations are in place. _No one_ is more eager for this than I am." He steps further back inside the room. "But I want to show you something."

Hazel sighs. He walks to Taurus's side.

"Do you like it?" he asks.

"It's an arm? I seen plenny."

"Soon I'll have the rest of her here. I shall have her stuffed and mounted, like her kind did to ours!" Taurus rests a hand on the glass. His whole body is shaking with barely-concealed excitement.

"I don't care about any 'a' that." Hazel says. "I'm here 'bout Sienna."

Just like that all of Taurus's emotions are gone. His body stops shaking. His voice becomes sly and restrained, like before.

"Of course." He withdraws his hand. "Come."

He moves toward the door.

Hazel does not.

Taurus looks over his shoulder.

"You seem t' have the wrong impression of me." Hazel says. "I am not a follower."

"Yet you have a master." Taurus says. He puts the slightest bit of emphasis on the word _master_ , just enough to imply things that Hazel does not wish to hear.

Hazel keeps his arms crossed.

"Do not presume that you know me." he growls. "Do not presume that you know _her_." Taurus is motionless. His hand is on his sword. "What she is defies you. Defies all 'a' us. But she _is_ , despite that." He uncrosses his arms. "I'd say pray you nev'r find out. But there ain't no use in prayin'. The gods are gone."

Taurus stiffens slightly as Hazel draws close.

Hazel says nothing more.

Taurus studies him for a moment before he leaves.

Hazel walks right alongside him.

 

* * *

 

"You sent a valued member of our organization on a wild search for your ex-lover-"

"High Leader-"

" _Who_ , I have been told, was a minor at the time of your relationship-"

"High Leader..."

"Making _you_ a-"

"I DID NOT COME HERE TO BE INSULTED!" Adam bellows.

"No! You came here to kneel!" Sienna Khan snaps in return.

Adam does as he is told. "...she made advances." he says sullenly,

"She was not of age! If I could _ever_ have considered you a responsible adult, I would say that it was your _duty_ in this situation to turn her down!"

No one speaks. Her guards seem barely able to breathe.

Sienna Khan sighs. Her hands grip the arms of her throne perhaps a little harder than they should. "What am I going to do with you Adam?"

By contrast, Adam is a mess. He is shaking again. He adjusts his mask.

Sienna draws herself back up. "Tell me where you have sent Ilia."

He mutters something under his breath.

"Speak up." she growls.

"It's a personal matter." he growls as well. Sienna's ears flatten. He looks up. "Is that acceptable?"

"Is it acceptable that you tasked one of _our_ operatives to seek out _your_ former victim?" she asks. "I hardly think I need to answer that."

"She is not my victim!" Adam rages. "She..." He makes an effort to calm himself. "You would not understand."

"I understand more than you think!" Her own effort is more successful. "I was one of the first to suggest violence where violence was necessary. Peace bred complacency and acceptance of our place in the world. I will not allow humanity to push us down without pushing them back. But the destruction of the Hunter Academies crosses a line!"

"I was merely trying to follow your example, High Leader."

"And what example might that be?"

"Strength. Strength and unwavering conviction. The humans have seen that strength now."

Sienna's grip on the arms of her throne continues to tighten. "The loss of the CCT has brought global communication to a crawl! And the White Fang is more of a target now than ever before! You have justified humanity's campaign against us, and for what?! Empty promises from a group of humans? Humans we still know nothing about, who come and go as they please! These are not examples of strength, Adam. They are examples of your talents being diminished by shortsightedness!"

"She came to me!" Adam says. "She promised she would love me forever!"

Sienna sighs. "You still refuse to listen." She raises a hand. "Take him away."

Her guards hesitate.

They hesitate.

It's the moment they've prepared for.

The moment _he_ has made them prepare for.

And they hesitate.

Even without his Semblance charged, Adam Taurus is dangerous. He cuts down the guards that would have been his.

Sienna is on her feet.

The blade pointed at her is drenched in their blood.

"Treason at last." she says tersely. "I should not be surprised."

"You have lectured me for the last time Sienna!" he shouts. "You've always claimed to know better than me! But you haven't _seen_ what I've seen!"

The guards outside must have heard the commotion. All she has to do is keep him talking. It should be easy; he loves the sound of his own voice.

"And what is it that you've seen?" she asks.

To her surprise, he is silent.

His mask is still concealing his eyes. But he is smiling. A horrible smile.

When he starts to sing, his voice is equally as horrible.

" _The rusted chains of the prison moon are shattered by the sun... I walk a road, horizons change: the tournament's begun. The purple piper plays her tune; the choir softly sing..._ "

 _Where are my_ guards _?_ she thinks.

She can't rely on them.

She seizes a spear from one of her fallen guards. She uses it to block his first swing.

She only barely dodges the second.

As the fight continues, she realizes he's toying with her. Her instinctive first thought of _he will not make a mockery of me!_ soon falls before _what is he waiting for?_ , which gives way to a thought from before: _Where are my guards??_

The door to the throne room finally opens.

She steps toward it, drawing strength from the knowledge that it will soon be over.

"Guards!" she shouts. "With me! Arrest him!"

Nothing happens.

She adjusts her grip on her spear. "Guards!"

Nothing.

He is far enough away that she thinks she can chance a look behind her.

The guards seem conflicted.

The same way the guards that now lie dead upon the dais had been.

Then she notices the human, and he _is_ human, she can smell it on him, and the shock from the pieces falling into place hits her almost as hard as the blade that suddenly pierces her gut.

She turns her head. It's hard. She's shaking from the pain.

Adam is right there. He's glowing with a red light.

It's all that she can see.

His words are the last thing to drift through her mind as the red light, and everything else, fades to black.

_"Three lullabies in an ancient tongue- For the court of the_ _**crimson KING** _ _."_

 

* * *

  

He withdraws his sword, and the body slumps to the floor.

He looks up.

The human looks disgusted. _Good. His presence disgusts_ me _._

His guards are confused. If he was alone he would taste the blood on his sword, to see if he could taste what had made Sienna Khan so special. But he isn't.

He flicks his sword at the banner high above. The blood splatters upon it.

He turns back to them. "There was an intruder. A Hunter. I do not know who. _They_ killed our leader. AND her guards." he adds as an afterthought.

He looks at each of them in turn until he is certain they understand.

They kneel. "All praise High Leader Sienna. She has made the ultimate sacrifice." they say.

He likes the sound of that. "She has made the ultimate sacrifice for our people." he agrees. "With her last breath, she named me High Leader. _I_ will be the one to carry us forward into a new age."

They are silent.

He doesn't understand. It sounds good to him.

"A new age!" he repeats. "Of glory! Prosperity! And JUSTICE!"

Once he has gotten them to repeat it, he decides it's not so good after all. He'll have to work on it. A new slogan for a new age.

"Our former High Leader should be buried with honors." he tells them. "But not today. Today we must look forward before we can look back. Inform my advisers I wish to speak with them."

"And...the High Leader?" one of the guards asks.

" _I_ am High Leader." Adam says. He can afford not to yell at them this time. He is in a good mood again. "Do what you will with Sienna's body."

Some of the guards lift Sienna up and bear her out of the throne room on their shoulders.

Adam doesn't notice.

Nor does he notice the others removing the bodies of their fallen fellows.

He only barely notices the human pausing beside him. "When were you planning on telling me about that?" the human asks.

"This was my business, not yours." Adam responds. He's already making plans.

"It’s _our_ business now, and I don’t appreciate you withholding things like that." the human says.

Adam doesn't bother looking at him, or even facing the same way as him. "Your master was concerned with Sienna’s willingness to cooperate. Now she doesn’t have to be."

He's about to walk toward the throne ( _his_ throne) when the human lays a hand on his shoulder. Adam stiffens. His jaw clenches.

He looks at the hand, and up at Hazel, hoping to make his point clear.

"Nobody needed to die today." the human rumbles.

Adam shrugs the hand away forcefully. "I disagree." he says.

He hears the human's heavy footsteps behind him.

"I did not give you permission to leave." he says harshly.

The footsteps pause, just long enough for Adam to think he's won again, before they resume.

He sits down alone on his throne.

He is no longer happy.

 

* * *

 

They inter her in a plain airtight coffin. They don't have time for anything else. It makes their hearts ache to leave her like that, and they tell themselves and their comrades that it is what she would have wanted.

One of the oldest among them says, "The dead don't care what we give them. They're dead."

He knows he is right. And perhaps in other circumstances he would have been.

He doesn't know of the way the coffin shatters from within, of the chest that heaves, of the lungs that struggle to draw breath in that dry dusty mausoleum.

He never knows.

He is shipped out to Haven in preparation for the upcoming assault.

He dies along the way.

His comrades bury him in the forest in an unmarked grave. They don't have time for anything else. Perhaps they remembered his words, even if they could not repeat them.

He doesn't care. He's dead.

But Sienna Khan is not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That song he sings is King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King.  
> It is BALLING.


	9. Wish You Were Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, and I'm sorry, but it was kicking my ass for over a month, and I feel bad for not updating more.

"Yang!"

Yang jumps slightly.

She looks over her shoulder.

"Hey dad." she whispers.

Taiyang drops to his knees beside her. He lifts her up off the ground and hugs her tightly.

Blake doesn't move.

Jasmine pretends not to look.

"Are you okay?" he asks. "They said there was a _dragon_. But that doesn't make sense. If it had left Beacon, we would have heard something-"

"I'm okay." Yang lies. She's too tired to explain. She can barely hug him back.

She feels a tear slip down her her cheek before it squishes against her dad's shirt.

She's tired of crying.

She pulls back a little. "There's a- Uh-" She tries to remember where she left it. "There's a Scroll in- In the guest room. It's got a message from- From mom." She's too tired to correct herself, though she wishes she could.

He looks confused. "What? I thought that one stopped working ages ago."

She shakes her head. "It's from _my_ mother. Raven."

He goes rigid. So does Yang. "Raven? Did she come here?"

"No." Yang says, wishing she could be stronger. "I... I don't know. I don't think so." She sighs. "It's a long story."

Taiyang tries to tone it down. "Well, I made my excuses to the rest of the staff. Don't think they blamed me. They could see that thing from Signal." Yang looks down. "I'm not going anywhere." He considers. "I mean, I could go up and take a look at that Scroll if you want. So you don't have to explain as much."

She nods. She can't help falling back onto the sleeping bag.

"I'll be right back honey. I'm- I'm glad you're okay." He says the last part with a smile that she only barely returns. "Hi Jasmine." he says as he passes her. Jasmine still pretends not to look. They all hear the front door open and shut a few seconds later.

Yang sighs again.

"Blake?" she says.

Blake still doesn't move.

"You wanna hear something...dumb?"

Blake opens her eyes.

"Sure." she says shakily.

Yang shifts in place. She props herself up on her elbow and looks down at the grass between them.

"I miss you." she murmurs. "Isn't that stupid? You're...you're right here."

Blake doesn't say anything.

"I mean you weren't for a while. But you're here now." She rubs Zwei gently with the stub of her arm. Even in his sleep, he rolls over expectantly for tummy rubs. "But it- Sometimes it feels like you're not. You know?"

Blake thinks she does. She still doesn't say anything. She looks at Zwei instead of Yang. Looking at Yang is too painful.

"I miss you. I miss Beacon. I miss...being able to talk to you. Being able to kiss you." She turns very slightly red. "I really want to kiss you."

"That wouldn't be a good idea." Blake mumbles.

Yang looks at Blake. "Why?"

Blake doesn't look at Yang.

"Blake. Please." Yang can feel her eyes watering. "I'm right here."

"I know." Blake says at last. "I j... I don't feel well."

"Neither do I." Yang says. "But we said we had to talk."

Zwei stirs, as if sensing the tension.

Blake has started to shake.

"Come here." Yang whispers. She slides her arm around Blake's body and pulls her close.

Blake's face is screwed up tight against Yang's chest. Tears slide slowly towards the ground.

Yang's face is almost a mirror image of Blake's.

"I miss you." she says. "I miss...being...being able to _love_ -"

She can't keep talking.

Their bodies are pressed so close together that they could feel each other's heartbeats if they could notice. Yang's right arm itches for something to do, some part of Blake to hold, but it can't. It's not there any more. She buries her face in Blake's neck, in her hair. She smells singed. Yang wonders why, and then she remembers.

She'd been burning inside her mind, falling endlessly through flames and anger; raw, unadulterated, more powerful than anything she could ever imagine feeling. And then she'd heard her name and she'd stopped falling, but hadn't stopped burning. Not until Blake had said something. What was it? What had she said?

She can't remember, so she comes back to the present. She's still crying. They both are. She remembers what she had felt at least, after the anger.

Love.

It's why she hurts so much, even after the comfortable numbness of all those months in bed.

Her love had stopped her anger.

"I love you." she whispers.

Blake lets out a sound that's half-gasp and half-sob. She clings to Yang all the more.

Zwei struggles out from between them with an almost audible pop. He falls on his face, then stands back up.

He doesn't understand what's going on, but even he can tell that they probably need their space.

He heads inside too, to get a drink of water.

 

* * *

 

"I mean tell me I'm overthinking it." Coco finishes with a helpless shrug. She pops a baby carrot into her mouth and returns to grating the cheese.

No one does. Velvet and Fox are working with the dough near the oven.

Yatsuhashi is mixing the sauce. He tastes it. _Saucy,_ he thinks, paying silent homage to Yang.

Coco purses her lips.

The kitchen door opens.

"It's not them." Fox is saying in the same moment that everyone except him turns to look.

They're all confused when they don't see anyone.

The tiny clicking of nails on the wood floor clues them in to look down.

Zwei stops. He looks up, barks, and wags his tail.

Everyone laughs.

He keeps walking to his water bowl and begins to drink.

"How's he do that?" Velvet asks.

"I bet it's his Semblance." Coco says. She takes a break from grating the cheese to close the door.

"Telekinesis? Isn't that Glynda?"

Coco shakes her head. "'Whatever Zwei Wants Zwei Gets.'"

They all laugh again.

Zwei keeps drinking.

The laughter fades away, and everyone returns to what they were doing.

"I hope they're all right out there." Velvet murmurs. Then, slightly louder, she says, "Zwei, no." She'd heard him getting his bag of food out.

He whines.

"You're gonna eat with the rest of us." She walks over and bends down in front of him. "Think you can handle that boy?"

He whines again.

"Fool me once, shame on you." She presses a finger to his nose. "'Boop.'" she says by way of condolence.

He backs up a little to look at her finger. His eyes don't quite cross.

He doesn't get why she says that.

He doesn't get his food either.

"After everything that's happened, they need some time alone." Fox says.

"They're not. Jasmine's with them." Yatsuhashi says.

"She'll keep her distance." Fox says, surprising all of them with how certain he sounds.

 

* * *

 

Jasmine is keeping her distance. It's what she's best at. It's her Semblance, in a way.

She wants to talk to someone about how crazy awesome what just happened was. A dragon! Flying! (Levitating. Whatever.)

But Yang's other friends have gone inside to make dinner. And Yang's got all her stuff with Blake, which Jasmine doesn't know about, and couldn't begin to guess.

She's fine waiting though. Better than trying to talk to Yang's dad. She sees too much of her own dad in him, and she wonders which of their fucking quirks came first before she realizes she's getting too angry and looks for something to cool her off.

She opens her Scroll for some music. Something relaxing.

She lands on a Floyd song. She thinks Yang and Blake might enjoy it, so she turns the volume up a bit and takes a few steps back.

Blake is too stressed out to notice when the song begins by imitating a radio. Her Faunus ears do twitch when a clip of classical music plays. She looks up.

Jasmine gives her the OK sign with one hand.

As quickly as it'd come, the classical music stops. Now it's a single melancholy guitar that's playing. Yang gently, slowly, pulls Blake back down into Yang's embrace. Blake finds it easier than she expected to relax, due to her lingering fatigue and the equally potent sense of comfort she finds when she's this close to Yang.

Yang is still crying. Her eyes and her throat hurt, but she can't stop. She lets the music wash over her.

A second guitar joins the first, though without the filter. It sounds like it's being played live alongside the radio, only for them. She wonders if Velvet and Coco and the others can hear it from inside the house. If they can, they give no indication. The windows and doors remain shut.

And then the singing.

 _"_ _So_ _..._ _so you think you can tell_ _... h_ _eaven from hell?_ _Blue skies from pain?_ _Can you tell a green field_ _f_ _rom a cold steel rail?_ _A smile from a veil?_ _Do you think you can tell?_ _"_

Jasmine is the only one consciously listening to the lyrics. She looks up at the sky to avoid looking at Yang and Blake still on the ground.

 _"_ _Did they get you to trade_ _y_ _our heroes for ghosts?_ _Hot ashes for trees?_ _Hot air for a cool breeze?_ _Cold comfort for change?_ _Did you exchange_ _... a_ _walk-on part in the war_ _...f_ _or a lead role in a cage?_ _"_

She's too absorbed in the song to worry about Blake's reaction to the part about a cage. She does welcome the breeze that hits her face as the instrumental begins.

Yang gets up this time. She's stiff all over, and she's sure that Blake must be too. She helps Blake stand up as well. They stand stiffly next to the sleeping bags, unsure of what to do.

Then, in unison, they look down, Yang to Blake's scar, and Blake to Yang's stub.

 _"_ _How I wish, how I wish you were here._ _We're just two lost souls_ _s_ _wimming in a fish bowl._ _Year after year_ _..._ _Running over the same old ground_ _, a_ _nd how we found_ _...t_ _he same old fears._ _Wish you were here._ _"_

They're crying again, but softer, more gently. Yang is tired of fighting it. She leans in and presses her lips to Blake's.

Blake kisses her back. She runs her fingers through Yang's hair, and only Jasmine notices the way it glows after Blake's fingers leave.

The song fades away slowly to the sound of the wind.

And they're on their own again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the longest time I was debating whether the song should be SOYCD. CFVY was even discussing the merits of it in the kitchen scene in an earlier draft.  
> I think it works better later. When, I'm not sure. Just...later.  
> I'll try to write more often.


	10. Playing Catch-Up

"Why'd you leave?"

Blake inhales quietly. "Did- Didn't you say you already knew?"

Yang keeps looking at her, like she's afraid Blake will disappear. "Maybe. I- I don't really remember. Ever since you came back, it's..."

She doesn't know how to describe it. She just waits.

Eventually Blake says, "He- Adam...said...he- He would make it his mission in life to destroy everything I love." She winces and puts a hand on her scar. "I couldn't let him hurt you any more than he already has."

"So you decided to hurt me instead?"

Blake closes her eyes.

"...I'm sorry." Yang says.

"No. You're right." Blake says. "I...I ran. I told Coco that's what I do. I think I told you too." She chances a look up. "Right? At Mountain Glenn?"

It takes a moment for Yang to remember. She nods. "Right."

"I ran...so you would hate me. So you would be safe. And you should. You should hate me."

Yang doesn't tell her about the way she felt when _she_ had tried running away. It lines up all too well with what Blake is saying now.

"I don't hate you Blake." she says. "I never have. I love you. Remember?"

"Why?" Blake asks, getting to her feet in desperation. "Why do you _love_ me? After everything I've done to you!"

" _Because_ of everything you've done to me." Yang says. "FOR me. You sought me out during initiation. You listened to me. You let me listen to you. You opened up to me. Even before we-" She blushes. "Even before we... You know."

Blake doesn't look satisfied. She's silent for a long time.

So is Yang.

Jasmine tries not to cough. She hasn't had an opportunity to sneak away yet. She's waiting by the sleeping bags.

Blake and Yang have moved to the tree stump, sitting side by side next to it.

Yang's right arm is on her lap. She hasn't tried putting it on since she exploded.

"So." Blake says. "I...went home. To Menagerie. It took me a while to get there. I was-" Blake shakes her head slightly. "It doesn't matter. Mom and dad were so nice. So...welcoming. They didn't hate me either." She smiles. "I think you'd like them."

"They did a great job raising you." Yang says.

Blake doesn't acknowledge that. She stares at the house.

Yang waits.

Jasmine has just started to wonder about turning herself into a single line of string and inching along through the grass into the house when Blake starts to talk again.

"I used to think they were cowards. They abandoned the fight. But...now I'm not so sure. I've seen what the White Fang has turned into, what I helped them turn into." She remembers Adam, who he was rather than who he is now. She remembers Ilia. She hopes Ilia will find her way out. And she remembers Sienna Khan, so passionate, so certain-

She gasps quietly.

Yang jumps. "What?" she asks.

"We- We found a Scroll. Ilia, she- She was spying on me. I stole it from her. He's planning to take control of the White Fang. He's planning to attack Haven."

"What? When?" _Ruby!_

"I- I don't remember. Iiiit's all happened so fast." Blake clutches at her head. "Mom might- Mom might have gotten word to her. But he could be after them too!"

"Blake, look at me." Blake doesn't. "Please." She does. "We're going to be fine, okay? I'm sure your mom and dad are too. Just...tell me what you can, when you can. Okay?"

Blake nods shakily. Only then does Yang notice Velvet standing nearby. She offers a shy smile and a wave.

"Hey Velvet." Yang says. "I'm- I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's okay." Velvet says immediately. "You didn't seem like you could help it."

"I think I used to." Yang says. She looks down at the ground.

Velvet waits for her to say something else. She doesn't.

"So, it's gonna be time to eat soon. I think we've made enough for everyone." She tries to catch Yang's gaze. "You feeling hungry?"

She is, but she doesn't want to have to deal with people right now, even people as nice as CFVY. It makes her feel awful to realize it.

All she does is shake her head.

"Oh. Okay." Velvet had clearly been hoping for a different answer. She tries to move past it. "Blake?"

Blake shakes her head as well.

"Okay..." Velvet turns. "Jas?"

Jasmine looks up. "Huh?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Uh..." She looks at Blake and Yang. They're doing that thing they did yesterday: very clearly not looking at each other and very clearly wanting to. "Nah. I might get something later. Thanks anyway."

"Okay." Velvet says.

She's about to walk away when Yang says, "Wait."

She turns.

Yang is putting her arm on. It takes her a few tries, but she gets there. Then she hugs Velvet gently, even though she wants to hug her hard. "Thank you." she whispers.

Velvet hugs her back. "You're welcome." she says, with tears falling down her face. When Yang lets go, Velvet takes a moment to wipe them off, then smiles at everyone as best she can before heading inside.

Yang turns to Blake. To her surprise, Jasmine is leaning over the tree stump again, resting her elbows on top. She beckons to Yang, and just as quickly looks back at Blake. "Then what?" she asks.

Blake seems a little taken aback by Jasmine's proximity. "Uh." she says. "I- Where was I?"

"You'd just gotten home." Yang says. She sits down. "You were talking about your parents."

"Right." Blake frowns slightly. "We'd barely moved in before I decided to run away. Years ago. I stayed for...a while this time. Probably too long."

Jasmine and Yang are listening intently.

"Ilia found me. She was one of the people who convinced me to stay with the White Fang. But when I saw her again..." Blake sighs. "She- She was so _angry_. I could hardly even fight her. She won, but...then she... She stopped. Right as she was about to hit me and get her Scroll back. Looking back on it, I think I could see her, who she used to be. It makes me want to believe there's hope for her, even if she did tell the White Fang we were dating." She looks at Yang.

Yang nods. "Yeah. You think she told the White Fang, and _he_ found out later. Then he had them interrupt that broadcast the other day."

Blake nods.

"I didn't see it." Jasmine says. "I was on my way back from Vacuo. Those NDGO chicks stuck it out longer than I thought they would."

"Then how did you know about it?" Blake asks.

"Eh. Must've heard someone mention it." Jasmine says.

Blake looks at her. She can't help being suspicious.

"It must've taken me weeks to get better." she says after a minute. "I told my parents bits and pieces. I can't remember what, exactly. But I made sure to be careful." She sighs. "Then I started to come back here."

"You walked all the way to Menagerie and back?" Jasmine says in disbelief.

"No. I went by boat most of the way." Blake gives Yang an inquisitive glance. Yang shrugs and tries to smile.

"Okay. Let me see if I got this." Jasmine says. "Some punkboy-" The word she actually uses also ends with a k and has a u as its second letter. "-hurt both of you. You-" She motions to Blake. "-literally could not even, so you went home to try and keep Yang safe. Then you realized you messed up-" She uses the same word as before. "-and decided to come back."

"You make it sound so simple." Blake mutters.

"Thank you!" Jasmine says. "Now it's your turn Yang. What've you been up to?"

Yang stares at the house.

She stares.

And stares.

"Yang?" Jasmine says again.

Yang seems to grimace slightly.

"I d-" she says. "I don't know. It's just... It's a blank."

"Who was with you?" Blake asks.

Yang frowns. "Dad. Sun. Zwei."

"I don't know who that Sun guy is, but I don't think he's here. And we can't exactly ask Zwei..." Jasmine sounds disgruntled.

Yang is too lost even to apologize. "So that leaves dad." she says.

"Yeah." Jasmine says. She rests her chin in her hand. "Rock-paper-scissors?"

"What?" Blake asks.

"To see who gets to go and ask him." Jasmine says. She takes her chin out of her hand and holds it up as a fist. "Who's up?"

Yang tries to pay attention. "I'll go." she says.

"Hey! We were gonna rock-paper-scissors for it!" Jasmine says.

"He's my dad. And we should probably talk anyway." Yang stands up.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Blake asks.

"Thanks," Yang says. "But I think this'd be easier with just the two of us. Me and him." She smiles slightly at Blake.

"See you later, I guess." Jasmine says. She stands up as well and stretches, the clicks and pops of her joints making Blake wince slightly.

 

* * *

  

Yang opens and shuts the front door as quietly as she can. She knows Velvet probably heard it anyway, but she's used to being quiet.

She climbs the stairs slowly. The darkness is worrying. For a moment she almost wishes she had some light. Then she remembers what happened earlier.

She knocks on the door to her dad's room. "Dad?" she says for wont of something to do. She'd left her arm outside, so she can't even fiddle with that. "It's me."

She waits. She can hear the distant clinking of dishes being stacked. _Are they taking them out or putting them away? How long has it been?_

The door opens. Taiyang is standing there. His eyes are red, but not like Yang's or Raven's. They're red from crying.

"Hey Yang." he says quietly. "You wanna come in?"

Yang shrugs. She's doing her best to keep looking at him.

"...yeah." he says. He comes out, shutting the door behind him. "I uh... I saw the message." Yang doesn't say anything. "I can't be _lieve_ her!" he says. He only barely raises his voice. "After all this time!" He takes a breath. "Where'd you find it?"

"At the old house. We got lost on the way back from Vale after our talk."

"So she's been here. Or there at least. But why would she leave it there? I mean I guess it's the only place she felt comfortable leaving it. But why not with Glynda? Or Mistress Cerise? Unless she didn't _want_ them to know-"

"Blake- Blake said she saw someone in the reflection. She said it was 'the couple from the boat'. I didn't get a chance to ask what she meant."

"'The couple from the boat', huh?" Taiyang's frown deepens. "Do you think she could give us more detail?"

"Maybe. If you brought the Scroll. We were kinda hoping you could do something for us." She's not looking at him any more.

"Oh. Okay." He sounds confused.

Yang looks at the floor. "I don't... I don't remember much of what's happened. Since the Fall. I know CFVY came some time last month, and Ruby left-" She swallows. "Ruby left in the middle of winter... But-"

"Well there was that incident at the school." Taiyang says. "I thought at the time you'd just lost your temper. But Blake didn't think so."

"She wasn't even there." Yang tries not to let on how much that still hurts.

"It was the other day, before we came back here." Taiyang says. He makes a sound. "Huh." Yang looks up a little. "Wow. These last couple days have been something else, huh?" He holds out his hand towards the stairs. "Why don't we go talk with Blake? I can try and help her, and she can try and help me."

"Sounds good dad." Yang says. But she waits. She doesn't know who's supposed to go first.

Taiyang takes the initiative.

At the top of the stairs, he pauses. Yang nearly runs into him. "Yang, I-" She looks up again. "I'm sorry." He heads downstairs before she can think of what to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly more on the ball this time. I'll try to be more consistent in future.


	11. Back With RNJR

Ruby approaches the Faunus, who's still huddled in a corner of the cave.

"Uh, hi." she said. "I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose." She waits. He doesn't say anything. "What's your name?" He still doesn't say anything. "Um..." She taps her fingers together nervously. "I wish Ren was here. He could use his Semblance to- And it'd probably help me too- I-"

"Ruby?" Nora asks. She's still standing guard over the thugs.

Ruby jumps. "Coming!" She reaches out to put a hand on the Faunus' shoulder, but thinks better of it. "I won't be far, okay?"

She steps up beside Nora. "What's up?" she asks.

"Oh, not much. I was wondering if you really wanted _me_ to be standing guard, 'cause one shot from this and the cave would colLAPSE. Not that I don't think we wouldn't make it, you could use your Semblance to get us out, and even if you didn't we're strong enough to hold out until rescue, but you know, if you wanted these guys _alive_ -" She stops talking. "What's up with you?"

"What? Nothing. I'm fine. Why?" Ruby says automatically.

"You're, uh..." Nora tilts her head to one side, then she says, "Jaune! You wanna take over for me here?"

Jaune scrambles to his feet. "Oh. Sure." he says. He takes his sword out of its sheath, more as a warning than anything, and lets Nora walk with Ruby to the mouth of the cave.

Ruby protests halfheartedly. "I said I wasn't gonna go far..."

"Well you're not!" Nora says. "But out here you can get a whiff of that mountain air!" She inhales. "Woo! Mistral!" Her gaze only leaves Ruby for a moment. "Soooo... What's _up_?" she says again.

Ruby looks down at the ground. "I- All of a sudden I just remembered- Remembered...Weiss." It's been a while since she last said Weiss's name. "And- I could almost hear her again. 'Who's team leader here?!' That's what she'd say if she heard you talking with Jaune."

"It's _fine_. Just cause he's the leader doesn't mean he doesn't have to listen to us!" Nora says.

Ruby looks up, but doesn't say anything. She smiles.

Nora sighs. She rests her chin on the tail end of Magnhild. "Okay." she says. "I know I suck at this. Emotions. I'd rather _hit_ something, or _do_ something, you know me. But Ren doesn't. He doesn't suck, I mean. You should talk with him sometime."

"It's fine." Ruby says. "He's got his own things to worry about. We did just kill the Grimm that killed his family."

"But-" Nora starts to say, before a noise from behind draws both their attentions. "You're back!" Nora squeals. She knocks Ren over with the force of her hug. She babbles excitedly into his ear as the police edge around them and into the cave.

Arslan is watching the thugs.

Jaune is talking with the police.

Ren's gaze alternates between Nora and Ruby.

Ruby smiles.

 

* * *

 

"All right." the police officer says. "You're Ruby...Rose, yes? Why don't you tell us what happened?"

"Uh, well..." Ruby taps her fingers together. "My friends and I- My _team_ and I-" It still hurts when she says it, but she presses on. "We were out shopping. Not shopping, exactly, just, you know, browsing. And- We saw some people going into this little cave just off the marketplace." The police officer is silent. He keeps looking at her. Ruby doesn't like it. "And I- I got this really bad feeling, so I-" She stops. "Is he going to be okay?"

"The Faunus?" The officer nods. "He should be okay."

"Doesn't he have a name?" Ruby presses him.

"I'm sure someone's got it written down somewhere. Go on."

"Okay. They were all...kind of hunched over around him. He kept trying to scream. He-" She can't go on. "Why would someone do something like that?" She's not sure she's talking about the Faunus any more.

The officer shrugs. "Why'd your teammate attack one of our students?"

Ruby's eyes snap up. "What?"

"In the singles round. You know that was one of the last things we saw before the CCT went down? Aside from Atlas troops attacking everyone. Guess she got a little ahead of the game."

"You don't know the first thing about her!" Ruby shouts. "She _raised_ me! She never would have done anything like that!"

The officer shrugs again. "But she did it, didn't she?" Ruby doesn't know what to say. She just glares. He closes the folder on the table between them. "That'll be all for now. You have an address for us, in case we have any follow-up questions?"

She really wants to say no, but the thought of what Uncle Qrow would say if he found out she'd turned down a potential ally makes her stop.

"Emporia Towers." she says through gritted teeth.

"Thank you." He stands up and opens the door.

She's out of the room in a burst of rose petals.

In the lobby of the police station she becomes aware of her hands, clenched so tight they're shaking, and her scowl. She looks at her reflection in the window to try and straighten her face out and sees Ren coming around the corner behind her.

"Ruby?" he says.

She takes one last look at her reflection and turns. "Yes Ren?" she asks.

He looks down at the floor. There are rose petals there, scattered this way and that from her rapid escape. ( _Scattered. Like everyone._ Try as she might, she can't get the thoughts out of her head.)

"Oh. Uh, it's no big deal. They should go away soon."

"That's not what I meant." he says placidly.

"Huh?"

"You used your Semblance. Are we in danger?"

"No no, no, no. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't keeping you guys waiting."

"I see." he says. "Well, Nora's still with her officer. I don't think she's told her anything she wants to hear. And Jaune is helping the victim to the best of his abilities."

"Okay. That's good." Arslan hadn't come in with them. She seemed to have some sort of understanding with the cops. "Do we know his name yet?"

"I don't. Jaune might."

"Guess we can ask him when we see him then." She laughs nervously, rocking back and forth on her feet.

Ren is still looking at her. His head is tilted very slightly to one side.

Ruby continues to fidget.

The petals are fading.

"So-" Ren begins. A door shutting somewhere behind them makes them both look.

Nora yawns loudly, and proceeds to stomp over to Ren, slouching all the way. "Ugh. _Cops_." she says.

"I did attempt to tell them it would be better if they interviewed us together." Ren says.

"Always better." Nora says, nodding with as much enthusiasm as she can muster.

Ruby frowns a little. "So... You don't like cops?"

"No." Nora says.

"It's nothing personal Ruby. Nora just has...bad memories of them. From before we met." Ren puts a hand on her shoulder. "You're going to throw your back out." he tells her.

Nora groans in protest. She continues muttering unintelligibly for a little while longer before Jaune shows up.

"Everything is settled. I think. Those thugs are going to stand trial in a few days, and Reseda's in the hospital. He should be okay."

"Are they gonna need a statement?" Nora asks.

"Did you tell him where we're staying?" Ruby asks at the same time.

"No." Jaune says, sounding flustered. "I- Wait." He fumbles with something behind his back. Only Ren sees it. "Yes." he says to Ruby. "And no." he says to Nora. "They should have gotten everything they need from our interviews."

"They didn't get anything out of _me_." Nora mumbles. Ren pats her shoulder.

"Good." Ruby says with a sigh. "I'm glad we were on the same wavelength with that." She stands up straight. "Let's go find Arslan."

"Isn't that her?" Jaune says. He points out the window.

Ruby looks where he's pointing. "Oh yeah. Huh. I guess I didn't see her before." She beckons to them with a grand sweep of her arm and her cape. "Come on!"

Jaune follows close behind. Ren and Nora bring up the rear.

Ren wonders about that coin Jaune was fiddling with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started writing this, I did not expect it to turn into this giant epic I've built it out to be.  
> I have plans, so many plans, but so little mental energy.  
> I know what Weiss is doing, what her storyline will be for a while, but getting to it is another matter entirely.  
> I'm sorry it's taking so long.


	12. Yang Is Tired (And Some Snippets)

Yang makes it one step down the stairs before she collapses. She sits numbly in the dark, rubbing the stub of her arm.

She knows everyone's probably expecting her, but she's too scared to move.

She doesn't even know what she's scared _of_.

She just sits there, waiting in the hope that someone comes to find her.

 _Nobody ever does, though,_ she thinks.

She loses track of time. It's easy. She just stops caring.

She wishes it was that easy for other things.

After a while, she hears a soft voice calling her name. Her heart beats faster for a moment.

It's Velvet.

"What happened?" Velvet asks. She's coming up the stairs.

She doesn't ask if everything's okay. She knows better after what happened outside.

 _What_ did _happen?_ Yang wonders.

She shakes her head. "I'm fine." she says.

Velvet kneels down a few steps below Yang. "You're not." She puts a hand on one of Yang's knees.

"I'm just-" Yang sighs. "I'm just tired. That's it."

"And you're up here. Blake and your dad are waiting outside." Velvet's ears droop.

"What about Jasmine?"

"She went home. It's late."

"That figures." Yang says.

Velvet tilts her head to one side.

"She's another leaver. I haven't seen her in months. Not _once_. Not since- And now she's gone again."

"I'm sure she'll be back. She did kinda save you an' Blake earlier." Velvet doesn't sound sure.

"Maybe." Yang looks down. She notices her hand is clenched. "I'm supposed to be the happy one. The easy-going one." Her hand clenches tighter. She can almost feel the other one do the same. "But everyone _leaves_. And I'm- I'm supposed to forgive them, like, 'It's no big deal. My mom left right after I was born. Then Summer. Then Pyrrha. Then Blake. Then Weiss. Then Ruby. Now Blake's back, but Jasmine's gone-'"

She feels dazed suddenly. Almost feverish. Everything seems brighter now. _That's weird. If I'm gonna faint, it should be getting darker, right?_

Velvet's eyes are glinting. At first Yang thinks she's crying too, but that's not right somehow.

 _Oh. My hair._ Yang takes a deep breath. She tries to open up her hand.

"It's okay if you're angry."

"No. It's not." The tears in Yang's eyes are turning to steam. "You s- You saw what hap- What happened. I can- I can't stop it. I can't stop it."

Something pushes its way onto her lap. Yang doesn't have it in her to look, but a soft little whine tells her it's Zwei. She rubs his head with her hand. It's still a fist.

"Do you wanna come downstairs?" Velvet asks.

She doesn't, but she nods.

Velvet stands up. She offers her hand. The right one.

Yang takes it. Velvet has to pull Yang to her feet. She's strong. Yang finds it hard to remember that sometimes. She looks so small.

 _But Weiss looked small too sometimes,_ Yang thinks. _I almost wanted to protect her as much as Ruby. Blake was too fast for me to protect. Then she'd pull off something like that ice shell she used to protect us from the train hitting the wall, or sacrificing herself in the doubles match-_

_Top-heavy._

_Bottom-heavy._

_"Yang Xiao Long, stand down!"_

Yang blinks.

She's outside. _When did that happen?_ Blake is on her right. Yang has her arm on. She doesn't remember putting it on. Tai's on her left. Someone is talking.

"Where's Velvet?" Yang asks.

"She went upstairs, remember?" Tai says. "You said she could have Ruby's bed."

 _No,_ Yang wants to say.

"Yeah." she says.

"And Zwei?" she asks after a moment.

"He's...right there." Yang looks. He's still on her lap. "Yang, are you sure you're okay?"

 _No,_ she wants to say.

"Yeah." she says again. "I'm fine."

Tai pulls her into a hug. It feels weird, but everything feels weird now.

She looks over at Blake.

Blake is curled up into a ball. She doesn't look happy.

 

* * *

 

_"How did you know?" Blake said._

_"Huh?" Jasmine said._

_"How did you know that Sun is a guy?"_

_Jasmine shrugged._

_"Have you seen him? Maybe at Beacon?"_

_Jasmine shrugged again, adding a verbal equivalent as well._

_Blake's frown deepened. "How long have you known Yang again?"_

_"I don't know. A while? What's with all the questions?" Jasmine said._

_"Your coming back, it's very...convenient."_

_Jasmine shook her head. "I don't get it."_

_Blake didn't say anything._

_They both looked up at the sound of someone approaching._

_It was Taiyang._

_Blake had to make sure her ears weren't trying to go flat on top of her head._

_"Hey." he said. "I was- Yang convinced me that we should talk. I guess we're waiting on her."_

_Jasmine got up. "Actually I think I'd better be getting home. Mom's probably waiting." She squinted at her watch, trying to find some light to see it by. She had to walk all the way to the front door before she found some. "Oh, yeah, Mom's definitely waiting. See you guys later." She waved hastily._

_Blake and Taiyang waved back, less hastily._

_Jasmine disappeared into the darkness._

_Taiyang let out a deep breath. He looked at Blake. He seemed about to say something, then thought better of it and smiled awkwardly._

_Blake wasn't sure if she smiled back._

 

* * *

 

Trifa turns her head. She says nothing, but she doesn't have to.

Ilia doesn't reply until she closes and fastens the door behind her. She takes a breath before she says, "I think I'm close. They almost trust me enough to tell me where Blake's gone."

Trifa still doesn't say anything.

Ilia is very good at reading micro-expressions like the ones Trifa uses. She is a predator, silent and efficient. Her side of the hut is covered by one large web.

"I- I don't know. These things take time."

Trifa still doesn't say anything. Then she puts her hands together like the Albains do.

"T- They want to see me?" Ilia says.

Trifa nods very slightly.

Ilia takes a moment to compose herself. She checks to make sure her skin is back to normal.

"Very well." she says. "Can you keep yourself busy until I return?"

Trifa doesn't say anything.

Her web is full of insects.

Ilia nods, and leaves.

 

* * *

 

Oscar gets down off the train. He takes a moment to check his map again.

The scale-covered woman stands at his side. He thinks she's looking at the map as well, so he offers it to her. "This is where we are." He points. "We've still got a long way to go, even to get to Kuchinashi."

"And from there to the capital; how long will that take us?"

"A few days on foot? I think. I don't know. I've never been there."

"That'll be fine. If you're sure you still want me with you."

Oscar lowers his voice and his gaze. "He...he says he wants to keep you where he can see you, or at least know where you are."

"What about you?"

Oscar blinks. He shakes his head in surprise. He has to think about it for a moment. "I- Well, we're all strangers, right? Most of us? It'd be nice to have some company that's not entirely in my head."

**"Indeed."**

Oscar looks up. The woman's eyes seem darker somehow, and her voice definitely is.

"Is she- Is this the other one?"

**"Surely it's obvious, even to one such as you."**

Oscar feels Ozpin bolstering his spirits, from wherever he is inside Oscar's mind. "He- Bring her back. It's not nice to steal someone's body without permission."

The other inside the woman chuckles briefly without humor. **"This body is not hers. It is not even mine. I took it to 'reward' her defiance."**

"What are you talking about?" Oscar says. He's surprised at his own defiance. _If it even is mine any more._

The other just watches.

Ozpin tries to say something inside Oscar's head. Oscar isn't sure if he even 'says' it or if it just drifts from Ozpin's mind to his. It's too faint to make out.

The woman gasps. She loses her balance and almost falls onto the train tracks. She catches herself before Oscar has a chance to try and help. She lurches forward, one hand reaching for her waist, head turning slightly from side to side as if searching for something (or someone).

She blinks repeatedly.

"Are you okay?" Oscar asks her.

She seems to look at him. It's hard to tell when her eyes are nothing but black. They don't feel as black as when the other had been speaking.

Finally she nods. Her breathing is still elevated.

He wants to know what it feels like to have control taken away like that, but at the same time, he really doesn't.

He waits for her to regain her composure. It takes a while, so he ends up having to sit down beside her.

 

* * *

  
Everything hurts.

She's tired.

She lifts up her head.

Bits of metal are all around her.

At first she doesn't understand what that means.

Suddenly she does.

But she still hurts.

She sees her weapon.

She reaches for it slowly, her body screaming as she does.

She grabs hold.

Now comes the hard part.

Weiss stands up. Her heels wobble in the dirt. Her legs wobble even more.

She opens her mouth to try and cry out. She realizes she doesn't even know her pilot's name. She tries anyway.

"Hello?" she whispers.

No response except the quiet crackling of a fire.

_That's bad. If it reaches the engine..._

She limps through the wreckage of the airship, whisper-shouting every couple of steps.

Metal groans behind her.

She whirls.

 _It's just the wreckage settling,_ she tells herself.

But she keeps looking.

Finally she turns around and continues her search. She's going as fast as she can, but it doesn't feel like it's very fast.

Then she spies something. A white sleeve.

She goes faster now. She hopes she isn't too late.

The pilot is alive when she reaches him, though unconscious. He seems badly injured. Weiss knows that she might be too. Nevertheless she pulls him up as gently as she can. She slings one of his arms over her shoulders and hobbles away from the wreckage.

It happens as they're less than a meter from the treeline. There's a **boom** that she feels in her bones. She turns. Then the whole thing goes.

She covers her eyes with her free hand. She can feel the heat from here.

She also feels the pilot start to move next to her.

"Woulda b-" He coughs. His voice is worse than hers. "Woulda been worse if you hadn't used up all that Dust against those Lancers."

Weiss smiles.

"How do you feel?" she whispers.

"I don't know. Seems it threw my nervous system out of whack there. Can't quite feel the pain..." He's quiet for so long that Weiss is afraid he's fallen asleep, or worse.

"Yes?" she prompts him.

"There it is." He groans loudly.

"He won't make it." a voice says.

Weiss turns sharply.

Someone is lurking in the trees. She can't quite see who it is.

She adjusts her grip on Myrtenaster.

"Oh there's no need for that." the voice says. "You'd just end up making it even worse on yourself."

"Show yourself." Weiss says.

The voice scoffs. "You mean you can't see me? Guess that Schnee money didn't go towards getting you a new pair of eyes."

 _They know I'm a Schnee._ Was _a Schnee._

She can't fight anyone holding the pilot like this. If she could set him down, she might stand a chance.

_I have to. I've come too far to fail now._

She's about to whisper to the pilot when the voice says, "Come on. Just leave him here."

She ignores them. "Can you get yourself someplace safe?" she asks the pilot as quietly as she can.

"Maybe." he whispers.

Suddenly the leaves rustle, like something is coming. She pulls his arm off of her and hisses, "Go!"

He staggers off as she readies herself.

A young woman with short brown hair and some sort of tattoo on her left arm is closing in.

"I've done all the waiting I'm going to." the woman says. She points a curved weapon with a gun barrel in the middle at Weiss. "You're coming with us. Raven wants to see you."

"Why should I care what 'Raven' wants?" Weiss asks, stalling for time. Her Aura is very low, so she can use every second she can get.

"She's Yang's mom." the woman says out of nowhere.

Weiss thought she'd been ready for anything. She had not been ready for this.

The woman breaks into a dash.

Weiss barely dodges to the side of her enemy's first attack. The woman quickly corrects herself, bringing her weapon up in a sweeping diagonal slice. Weiss catches the edge of her blade on Myrtenaster before she feels something against her side. She looks down very slightly. It's another weapon, identical to the first but retracted so that the barrel of the gun is pressing into her stomach.

She doesn't have enough Aura to take the hit at this range.

The woman smirks. "'Bang.'" she says. "That's if this was a real fight." She retracts the blades of her other weapon and steps back. "I told you, Raven wants to see you. She'd be real upset if she saw you _dead_."

Weiss steps back as well. Her heart is pounding in her chest.

"Well, probably not _real_ upset." the woman says. She seems to enjoy Weiss's fear. "Mildly miffed is more like it." Suddenly she throws one of her weapons. It extends in midair before embedding itself into the tree trunk around the pilot's neck. "You might not wanna watch this." she advises Weiss.

She advances on the helpless pilot, who can barely breathe.

Weiss steps between them. "You'll have to kill me first." she snaps.

The woman glares at Weiss. "Oh, you little-" She stops. "Fine. But he's only gonna slow us down. If we don't get there before Raven goes to bed, I'm taking it out on both of you."

She retrieves her weapon and makes a gesture. More people come out of the underbrush. Weiss looks around nervously.

"Oh relax. They're with me." The woman gestures again at the pilot. "Make sure he's ready for the trip."

Two of the men hurry to do as she says.

The woman steps back, fastening her weapons to her belt.

She looks at Weiss. "So." she says with another smirk. "What should we do to pass the time?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang lost some more time there, that's why she doesn't remember offering Velvet the bed.  
> The Faunus woman with Oscar is included more for my own benefit. If I was writing this 100% seriously, I'd probably admit that The Other takes away a bit from Ozpin's specialness. But this is by far the biggest thing I've ever written, so I'm including a lot of things that aren't entirely RWBY.  
> I've got two more perspectives I should/could have included; RNJR and Arslan, and Sienna Khan; but I wanted this chapter out sooner, and those perspectives aren't done yet.  
> (The Pyrrha stuff is taking forever to get to, I know.)  
> September 21st: Writer's block. I'm very sorry.


	13. Another Montage (Because I Have Too Many Plots)

Yang wakes up slowly. She hardly even notices she's in a different place.

She rolls over and sees Velvet reading in the other bed.

And she remembers.

Everything begins to rush back as Velvet notices that Yang's awake.

"Good morning." she says quietly. "How you feelin'?"

Yang's mind is whirling. "Huh?" she says.

"How are you?" Velvet asks again, putting her feet to the floor.

"Oh. I'm okay." Yang throws back the covers and puts her feet to the floor as well. "How're you?"

Velvet shrugs. "I'm okay too."

Yang tries to nod. "And..." She frowns. She can't remember the names of Velvet's teammates. "How's your team?" she manages to say.

"They're okay. Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

Yang blinks a few times to try and clear her head. She hopes it isn't too obvious. "Sure."

"I know you said I could have Ruby's bed, at least for a little bit." Yang doesn't know, or doesn't remember. She nods anyway. "But I... I was wondering...if it'd be all right...if I...shared it...with the others?" Velvet asks shyly. "Not all at once," she adds. "I was thinking we'd like take turns."

"Of course." Yang says. "I mean, if...the big guy will even fit."

"Yats?" Velvet considers this. "He should." She frowns. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"What? Yeah. I'm fine. Just...tired." Yang can't quite meet Velvet's eyes.

Velvet continues to frown. Then she stands up.

"You wanna get something to eat?" she asks.

Yang looks down. "I don't know."

"Okay." Velvet says, even though she doesn't think it is. "I'll be right back." She steps out of the bedroom and says, "Hey Blake?"

Yang looks up. She can't help it.

Blake's not there, but Velvet is.

Yang's heart beats faster.

"Yang's awake." Velvet is saying. "You prob'ly already heard. You wanna come say hullo?"

Footsteps in the hall. They're coming closer. Yang's heart beats faster and faster.

Blake pokes her head around the doorframe. She smiles slightly.

Yang starts to cry.

Blake and Velvet hurry to her side.

Velvet sits down on the bed, putting her arms around Yang.

Blake just stands there.

She wants to hug Yang. But she can't. They've broken up.

Blake doesn't say anything.

Yang doesn't say anything. She just cries.

Eventually Velvet tugs on Blake's sleeve. Blake looks at her. Velvet motions with her head to Yang.

Reluctantly, Blake sits down on Yang's left side. Her ears lie flat on her head.

Yang is still crying. She doesn't feel like she can stop.

Coco appears. She looks at Velvet. Velvet looks back and shrugs with one shoulder.

Coco steps further into the room. She ends up standing not far from where Blake had been.

"Yang?" she says quietly. Yang tries to stop crying. She looks up at Coco. "We're here for you honey." Yang's eyes fill with tears again, and she buries her face in her hand.

No one seems to have anything to say for a while. Yang lays on her bed, unsure of who she's snuggling up to more; Velvet or Blake. Coco watches. The only sounds in the room are Yang continuing to cry and Coco shifting or stretching every now and then.

"Coco."

Coco looks up from inspecting her top.

Blake's gaze wavers, but she returns Coco's gaze nevertheless. "I...I have a question." she says quietly, barely more than a whisper.

"Go for it kid." Coco says.

"We're looking for someone. Two someones," Blake corrects herself. "They might be twins, they've both got red hair... We think they're at Signal somewhere. Could you-" She lowers her ears reflexively. "-could you send Fox and Yatsuhashi there to look?"

"I can ask." Coco said. "But I think 'looking' is a little outside of Fox's paygrade."

Velvet groans. "Coco..."

Even Blake has to smile.

Yang doesn't. She hiccups.

"Like I said, I can ask. Be right back." Coco turns toward the door, then turns back. "Is that okay Yang?"

Yang sniffs. She nods without looking up.

"Okay." Coco says. She walks out the door.

 

* * *

  


"You're like a SUPERHERO!" Nora yells.

Arslan winces ever so slightly. No one seems to notice.

"There is nothing super about me." she says. "I do what Hunters should: protect those who cannot protect themselves. Sometimes it is enough."

"We're on a mission too." Ruby says. "It'd be good to have someone who knows the city to show us around. Would you, uh..."

Arslan grunts in affirmation.

Ruby beams. "Oh that's so cool! Thank you thank you!"

They pass the marketplace from earlier. "What is it you are looking for?" Arslan asks.

"That's a...a long story. We're looking for the people who started the attack on Beacon." Ruby says.

"It appears that would be Pyrrha." Arslan says, a complicated blend of emotions clouding her voice.

"You knew her?" Ren asks.

Arslan is silent. Her eyes restlessly scan the street they're walking down.

" _She_ was." Arslan says eventually.

Ruby and Jaune look at each other in confusion, as do Nora and Ren.

"A superhero." Arslan adds. "From where we stood, she could do anything."

"I think she met you during the Festival." Jaune says. "She seemed impressed with how you were able to go toe-to-toe with Yang."

If Arslan was anyone else she might have blushed. "I'm surprised she spoke of it. She must have had other things on her mind."

They're all silent again.

Ruby is the one to break it this time. "It wasn't her. If she had known about...Penny..." She stops, barely able to go on. "But Mercury and his team had something to do with it. I saw him just before they started fighting. He was sneaking around behind the scenes. He was walking around. He was _fine_. If I had had Crescent Rose, I could have- I could have-" She wipes her eyes again and again on the back of her hand. "And that woman- Their leader-"

"You know more than I do." Arslan says, her voice a gentle rumble. "When you are able, I would appreciate it if you told me."

Nora puts her arm around Ruby's shoulder. Ren puts his arm around her other shoulder. Jaune doesn't know where to put his arms.

"We're almost back at the hotel." he tells them. "You can come up to the room with us, or- Or we could get a bite to eat."

Ruby doesn't think she can eat. She remembers the pieces Penny left behind on the colosseum floor, and how there weren't any pieces left by Pyrrha, only her circlet and that bone...

She's crying so hard she wants to throw up.

She hates being stuck like this, stuck in her own head.

 

* * *

 

Weiss stares nervously at the woman. The woman doesn't seem to notice, more intent on listening to what her subordinates have to say about the pilot's condition.

She's very muscular, in a different kind of way than anyone Weiss can remember seeing. It's like she's built out of muscle, rather than muscles being built out of her.

She looks over her shoulder. Her eyes are only slightly darker than Weiss's own. "Crushing already?" she asks, raising one eyebrow. "I'm flattered, but I'm not interested. You're a little young for my taste."

"I am not crushing!" Weiss snaps. "Why does everyone think they know my emotions better than me?"

"Because you spend so long bottling them up?" the woman asks.

Weiss glares rapiers at her.

"Just saying." the woman grumbles. She turns back to her subordinates.

Weiss busies herself with inspecting Myrtenaster, while making sure to keep an eye on the newcomers in case they try something like the woman did.

After a while, the woman straightens up with a sigh. "Multiple fractures. He really is gonna slow us down." She looks back at Weiss. "How 'bout you and I go on ahead? He might have an accident or something when these guys get him up."

"I'll stay here, thank you." Weiss says. "I have knowledge in first aid, and no intention of assorting with bandits, or whatever you are."

"Dead on." The woman smirks. "But Raven already knows you're coming to see her. And if you don't, she gets mad. And she comes and finds you."

"How can she possibly know what isn't going to happen?"

"More like what does."

Weiss rolls her eyes.

"He's scared stiff, or maybe that's the rigor mortis setting in, and you must be practically out of Aura. You've got a chance with us. You don't with the Grimm."

 

* * *

 

 

Whoever's knocking is insistent.

"Yes, hi, that's my door, don't wear it out." he says upon opening it.

There's a dead woman staring back at him.

He frowns. "Okay, where do I begin?" He rubs his temples with the thumb and forefinger of his free hand. "First off, it's July, not October. Second, from all the Wanted posters still up, pretty sure Sienna Khan had ears instead of a tail-"

"I _am_ Sienna Khan." the woman coughs.

"Now see, you made me have to keep talking in order to ignore you." And he does. "What kind of privileged-"

The woman lashes her new tail against the ground. "Are you ever going to look at me?"

"I saw the dry ketchup. Not very convincing."

Sienna has had about all she can take.

So she collapses.

She's dimly aware of him dragging her into his apartment, of his hands probing the wound in her side, and, because he's human, the place where her other ears used to be.

After that, it goes dark for a time.

When she comes to, she finds herself lying on a couch, wrapped in a blanket. Her new tail has fallen asleep underneath her. She tries to move it, then hears noises and looks to see where they're coming from.

She thinks he's in the kitchen. _Food would be nice,_ she thinks, _if it doesn't fall back out again._

Some time later, he's standing by her side. He notices her looking at him and offers a bowl of noodles or something.

She eats. He watches. "Still have questions. Like...how did you get here? How'd you survive? Why me? That's a good one. Think that's probably number one at the moment."

"Semblance." she mutters without thinking.

"You came to me...because of my Semblance. Is it something cool? Always used to hope it was time travel."

" _My_ Semblance." she says. "Don't you ever stop talking?"

"Talking's a good way of finding things out. Guessing if you'd been better at it, you might not have gotten stabbed."

She scoffs. "I'm beginning to think that was inevitable. If not the stomach, then certainly the back."

He stops talking for once, possibly because he notices the way she's holding the fork.

"If you're still worried about me talking...doctor-patient confidentiality is a thing." he offers.

Sienna's Semblance is her greatest secret. Not the hijacked CCT towers that Taurus's reckless attack on Beacon have rendered next-to-useless, or the ways the White Fang had of reaching those in need.

_It's like a bank. An insurance policy. And I am all cashed out._

She had her Aura, like everyone else on the planet. Only a certain amount her body could hold. And she had surpluses stored...somewhere. It's never been clear where, even to her. They might even be in a pocket dimension of sorts. Her fight with Taurus and the cowardly blow he had dealt her had depleted her normal store, but her insurance policy had kept her alive, if only just. She had subconsciously depleted it to maintain the most minimal life functions and to attempt to heal the wound in her side.

She isn't even sure how she'd made it this far with so little. All she knows for sure is that she is a survivor.

"I am grateful to you for saving my life." she tells him. She thinks it's entirely possible she would have survived without his help as well, but Doctor Brick seems like the kind of human you need to flatter. "You are the only one who could. But do not think for a second that entitles you to my secrets."

He shrugs. "Okay. Now what?"

"Your flippancy annoys me." she sighs.

"That's why I do it. And to hide my emotions."

She ignores him again. "I believe it is time for me to sleep. If you have another use for this couch in mind, I will go elsewhere."

"Not with those stitches. You got any more Hunters after you?"

"No. You are the only one who knows that I am here." She doesn't feel like telling him who really tried to kill her.

"My room's just down the hall." He walks with a slight limp and clank, a prosthetic of some sort. "You might want a pillow _over_ your head too, on account of me masturbating."

Sienna doesn't know where she'll go from here, but she can't wait to leave.

 

* * *

 

 

The Grimm are _staying_ at Beacon. Grimm don't normally stay once they've destroyed a place. Especially not in numbers like these.

The teachers don't know why they're doing this. Glynda thinks she does, but she can't tell them. She can't tell anyone outside of Ozpin's group. She promised him. She just leads as best as she can: killing Grimm although she fears it's pointless, rebuilding Vale although she _knows_ that's pointless (the mere presence of the Grimm so close to Vale is enough to put civilians on edge, let alone their unusual behavior, so the Grimm will continue to get closer...), and the evacuations, and-

And there's something she's missing. Earlier today, Yang had said 'Pyrrha' like Glynda should know who that is. When Glynda returns to the camp, she asks everyone she can about 'Pyrrha'. It was something important, judging from the way Yang had reacted, but there aren't many people she can ask; Glynda doesn't want to worry the junior Hunters any more. She wants to help them.

Barty and Peter don't seem to remember 'Pyrrha' either. At least Glynda knows she's not imagining it, not cracking under the strain.

Some of the other teachers do remember her. They say 'Pyrrha' died. But that's not possible. Glynda knows the name of every student who's died since the Fall. So why not her?

Yang had mentioned JNPR. She remembers Jaune, and how Ozpin had barely seemed to hear the problems she'd had with him. She remembers Nora and Ren, and how wrong she'd been about the both of them...

P? Who does she think the P stands for?

She'd had it. It was on the tip of her tongue.

She wishes she could bring it back.

She wishes she could save it.

She wishes she could save her.

But do you really think you can save them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long time...and I really don't have an excuse.  
> It's another montage chapter, and I STILL didn't hit all the plot points. (The ones I can think of are Oscar and the Faunus woman, who I actually came up with a name for, Ilia, and the baddies.)  
> I know I've said this before, but I really will try to be better at uploading/writing from now on.


End file.
